Ideas for change: Why the drugs don’t work

Twenty per cent of medical advice is incorrect — for the simple reason that we all have a different genetic make-up. The number of patients who do not respond to first-time drugs for almost all diseases is high — up to 70% for Alzheimer’s or cancer patients; and this high failure rate is bad for patients and expensive for healthcare systems.

Oz recognizes that we can have more efficient, better value medicine if we personalize medical intervention based on an individual’s genome; this facilitates identification and early intervention for those at risk of chronic diseases, delaying the onset and minimizing the effects of the illness. The battle over healthcare costs will not be won in the heart of government — it will be won by personalizing medical services.

Author: Mehmet Oz is well known for his numerous television appearances, articles and books, including a regular slot on Oprah. His approach to health and well-being advocates the incorporation of both traditional Western techniques for treating disease and alternative ideas about healthy lifestyle choices to achieve overall wellness.

A graduate of Harvard, Wharton and the University of Pennsylvania, Oz is Vice-Chair of Surgery and Professor of Cardiac Surgery at Columbia University. He directs the Cardiovascular Institute and is a Founder and Director of the Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Medical Center.

Image: Between as much as 40% and 70% of first time prescriptions fail because we all have different genetic make-up.