Can we afford personalized medicine?

The New York Times looks at recent advances in diagnostic testing in the wake of a study showing that some women with breast cancer may not need chemotherapy. These diagnostic tests are raising hopes that personalized medicine may soon be an attainable reality. They are also leading to a movement on the part of makers to convert diagnostics, traditionally a low-profit area, into a profit center. That, of course, is leading some health policy experts to worry that a set of new problems may follow: prices may drive healthcare costs through the roof, insurers may not cover some tests and some patients may not get access to potentially life-saving technology.

- see the article in The New York Times