WORKSHOP 2

Personalised Medicine & Health Literacy - New Technologies, New Questions, New Skills

Wednesday, 3 October 2018 | 9.00-11.00 | Room 1

Organised by the Health Literacy Coalition; Sponsored by MSD

New technologies, such as personalised medicine, require new skills which are closely linked to the concept of health literacy and open the debate for many societal, scientific and ethical questions. When it is increasingly possible to “manage” health issues, several questions arise about accountability, responsibility and skills. How can health literacy empower individuals in the context of evolving medical science and the new possibilities and uncertainties of decision making? To what extent are health systems accountable for helping citizens and patients navigate new technologies? This session shines a spotlight on genomic (self-)testing, its promises and challenges, the bio-ethics perspective, as well as what it means for both the individual and for health systems. The session will explore the role of citizens, patients and health systems in a world of personalised medicine, outlining potential actions to support individuals’ health literacy skills in order to navigate new options in prevention and treatment.

Speakers & panellists

Input from

DANIELA GUNZ, Director of Research Partnerships, Healthbank

PETER NOWAK, Head of the Department Health and Society, Austrian Public Health Institute (Gesundheit Österreich GmbH)

KATIE GALLAGHER, Policy Advisor, EPF

CATHRYN GUNTHER, Associate Vice President, Global Population Health, Merck

MARK LAWLER, Dean of Education, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences and Chair in Translational Cancer Genomics, Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University Belfast

Moderator

KRISTINE SORENSEN, President, International Health Literacy Association