According to The Case for Personalized Medicine, on average, a drug on the market works for only 50 percent of the people who take it creating significant cost and quality consequences. The use of genetic and other forms of molecular screening allows physicians to select the optimal therapy the first time and avoid the frustrating and costly practice of trial-and-error prescriptions. Personalized medicine also introduces the ability to use molecular markers that signal the risk of disease before clinical signs and symptoms appear.

A recent survey of public attitudes toward pharmacogenetic testing (PGx), published in The Pharmacogenomics Journal, concluded that 92% of respondents expressed interest in PGx testing to assist with drug selection. However, 78% of respondents were not likely to have a PGx test if there was a risk that their DNA sample could be shared without their permission.

For a growing number of diseases, personalized medicine can now allow doctors to prescribe the right treatment, to the right person at the right time saving billions in healthcare cost and improving quality. Patients overwhelmingly support this approach so long as confidentiality is maintained.