2 Personalised MedicineinPublic Health
The first approach attempts to find the place for personalised medicine within the
public health setting. Taking as a starting point the definitions of the first and the
latter, an objective question comes into mind: is there even a possibility to discuss
personalised medicine in the context of public health if
- personalised medicine can be defined as a medical treatment adjusted to each
patient, i.e. exactlythistreatment tailor-made for exactlythispatient, for exactly
thisdisease, in exactlythismoment, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( 2013 ),^6 and - public health can be defined as a set of activities that should (besides disease
prevention) enable the achievement of highest possible level of health forevery
individual,everycitizen, Kass ( 2001 )?^7
Analysing the notion ofpersonalin personalised medicine and placing it in a
relationship with the notion ofpublicin public health, the position of personalised
medicinewithinpublic health becomesa contradictio in adjecto. Namely, these
opponent approaches to an individual as a potential user of any segment of health
care system extend to two frameworks most commonly used to explain these
approaches: - ME medicine, and
- WE medicine, Dickenson (2013a).^8
This brings us to one of the greatest critics of personalised medicine—Donna
L. Dickenson.
3 Personalised Medicinevs.Public Health
As a world-known medical ethicist, Dickenson is currently active at universities of
Oxford, London and Bristol. She again came in the spotlight with her latest book
titled “ME medicine vs. WE medicine: reclaiming technology for the common
good”, Dickenson (2013a).^9 In her book and many associated papers, Dickenson
points out the main differences between ME and WE medicine, which therefore
must stand in opponent positions, Dickenson (2013a),^10 Dickenson (2013b),^11
Dickenson ( 2014 ).^12
(^6) See U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( 2013 ).
(^7) See Kass ( 2001 ), pp. 1176–1182.
(^8) See Dickenson (2013a).
(^9) Ibid.
(^10) Ibid., 8.
(^11) See Dickenson (2013b), pp. 26–27.
(^12) See Dickenson ( 2014 ).
Personalised Medicine and Public Health 83