REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, YOGYAKARTA -- Have we seen or heard of patients who have had several treatments but never recovered? or patients who have had to regularly take medication for years but show no change when they have changed doctors.
The case is not about the type of disease that cannot be cured, but rather that the patient's body develops resistance to certain drugs.
“To find out it is necessary to carry out a genomic or molecular examination to increase the diagnosis capacity, and establish the risk of disease,” said Dean of the Faculty of FK-KMK UGM, Prof. Yodi Mahendradhata told reporters during the socialization of the Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) activity entitled “Precision Healthcare: Past, Present, Future” in the Joglo Alumni room of FKKMK UGM, Friday (1/3/2024)
Yodi confirmed that FKKMK UGM promotes precision medicine policy with broad support from healthcare professionals, industry and well-educated public about precision medicine, which was launched by the government in 2022 through Indonesian Precision Medicine Initiative through Biomedical and Genome Science Initiative (BGSi).
According to Yodi, Indonesia with its cultural and geographical diversity, faces unique challenges in adopting and applying precision medicine. In addition to the issue of accessibility, efforts to increase the capacity of healthcare professionals in promoting precision medicine need to be made. “It doesn't mean we're left behind. As a developing country, Indonesia has demonstrated its commitment in keeping up with global trends in precision medicine,
” he said. The
Covid-19 pandemic became an important moment that underscored the importance of genomic and molecular technologies. Through this pandemic, we are learning about the importance of social determinants in health, as well as the critical role of genomic surveillance in identifying
and managing disease.
According to him, precision medicine is not just a temporary trend, but a necessity. Because the current trend in health care is not only based on evidence-based medicine but also based on genomic evidence. “It is not simply about improving health status, but also providing superior and affordable services to society as a whole,” he said
.
Answering journalists' questions about the readiness of health centers in the development of precision medicine or genomic medicine, internal medicine specialist from FKKMK UGM Dr. Yanri Wijayanti Subronto said that the development of genomic medicine has actually been routinely implemented by health personnel at the first level of health centers through the use of molecular rapid test tools for the detection of tuberculosis disease but not in other types of diseases.
“There are already molecular rapid tests in many health centers. The program can also be used to calculate the number of viruses in HIV-infected patients. In fact, genomic medicine is not new but momentum for molecular testing to be accessible to the public and free of charge,” he said
.
While the researcher of genomic medicine was also the chairman of the Annual Scientific Meeting in the framework of the 78th Dies FKKMK UGM, Prof. Gunadi said that the development of precision medicine should be supported by the fields of bioinformatics, biobank, and registry, which have currently developed rapidly in Indonesia. Because every step in the development of precision medicine is sought to support the government's efforts to improve public health in a comprehensive manner
.
On that occasion, Gunadi also explained that FKKMK UGM will organize Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) in 2024 entitled “Precision Healthcare: Past, Present, Future. “The activities of this scientific meeting, according to Gunadi, aim to invite all actors in the healthcare industry to actively engage in developing precision medicine in the
country.
The ASM 2024 event will be held on Saturday, March 2, 2024, with a hybrid format that blends face-to-face face-to-face in the Auditorium of FK-KMK UGM. The event was initiated by the Gadjah Mada Kedektor Alumni Family in celebration of the 78th Birthday of FK-KMK UGM, 12th Anniversary of RSA UGM, 42nd Anniversary of RSUP Dr. Sardjito, and 96th Anniversary of RSUP Dr. Soeradji Tirtonegoro.