Precision Medicine

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef
MP for Marina Parade GRC

Question No. 1023

To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will be coming up with guidelines on the appropriate pre- and post-counselling and confidentiality and protection statements for the utilisation of personalised medicine.

Oral Answer

1 Personalised Medicine, also known as Precision Medicine, generally refers to the customisation of medical treatments and clinical care to specific patient groups, based on their underlying clinical, socio-demographic or genetic profiles.  There are existing safeguards on preservation of confidentiality of medical records and informed consent taking that apply to practice and research in Precision Medicine.  These safeguards are provided for under the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act (PHMCA) and the Human Biomedical Research Act (HBRA).  The PHMCA stipulates requirements on the protection of medical records, including the confidentiality and integrity of the records.  The HBRA provides a consent framework for the conduct of human biomedical research, including requirements relating to appropriate consent taking from research subjects.

2 Given that the field is evolving rapidly, there is a need to keep abreast of developments and review our safeguards so as to ensure patient and public interest.  MOH has started the process of drafting standards for the provision of clinical genetic testing services in Precision Medicine.  These will help address issues such as pre-and post-test counselling, competency of personnel involved in the delivery of the services, as well as appropriateness in the ordering of genetic tests and interpretation of test results.  The need for informed consent, security and confidentiality of information, and disclosure of test results to third parties outside direct healthcare providers will also be addressed.  MOH will consult relevant stakeholders on the draft standards when they are ready.