Earlier this week, the Western Australia (WA) Government announced the establishment of a new Ministerial Council that will advise the State Government on opportunities to further develop and support precision health advances.

Precision health uses new and emerging technologies to enhance disease prevention and early detection, and improve patient outcomes through treatments tailored to patients' individual genetic profiles, as well as their variable responses to the environment and lifestyle. 

The Precision Health Council will be chaired by South Metropolitan MLC Kate Doust and is expected to hold its first meeting within the coming months.

According to the official statement, the council will comprise stakeholder representatives from medicine, science, industry, Aboriginal health, patient organisations, medical research and commercialisation, as well as experts from key precision health-related technologies of genomics, phenomics, informatics and geographical information systems.

Early priorities of the council will include identifying and enhancing successful precision health initiatives already operating in WA's health system, and determining key areas that could benefit from increased integration of precision health measures.

On the record

“Western Australia already benefits from emerging precision health initiatives such as the Undiagnosed Diseases Program of WA (which provides earlier diagnosis for people with rare and baffling medical conditions), and the Australian Genomics Cancer Medicine Program (which harnesses precision genomics technology to match patients with rare and untreatable cancers to tailored clinical trials).”

“I look forward to being advised by the new council about potential advances in this exciting field,” said Health Minister Roger Cook in a statement.