WA Health Minister Roger Cook has announced the establishment of a new Ministerial Council that will advise the State Government on opportunities to further develop and support precision health advances in Western Australia.
Precision health is a rapidly evolving field that 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.
On the back of the recently released Sustainable Health Review which highlighted the importance of preventative health, this announcement builds on a key commitment of the WA Government to boost innovation and research that improves health outcomes for Western Australians.
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.
The council comprises 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.
Members will include WA’s Chief Scientist Professor Peter Klinken AC and renowned international clinical researchers, Professor Jeremy Nicholson and Professor Tobi Kollmann, both of whom recently moved to Perth.
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.
Source: WA Government