Hastings Center News

Issue Brief: Equitable Access to Precision Medicine

A new issue brief from The Hastings Center, “Strategies to Support Equitable Access to Precision Medicine for All of Us Participants from Federally Qualified Health Centers,” presents policy recommendations to mitigate disparities in access to appropriate medical follow-up after the return of genetic findings.

The federally-funded All of Us research program is unprecedented in the United States in its commitment to recruit 75% of participants from groups historically underrepresented in research. By creating a library of biological samples (a biobank) that is representative of the entire U.S. population, All of Us aims to support precision medicine for all. Starting this spring All of Us will return medical actionable genetic research results to participants who opt to receive that information.

This issue brief reflects findings from National Institutes of Health-funded research exploring disparities in access to precision medicine services for research participants recruited from community health centers that provide primary care to medically underserved populations. It offers actionable recommendations targeted to federal stakeholders on how to collaborate with FQACs to close the gap in access to precision medicine.

The authors are Hastings Center research scholars Carolyn Neuhaus, Nancy Berlinger, and Karen Maschke, and Johanna Crane, an associate professor in the Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College.

The Hastings Center has also launched a new website, Bioethics in Community Health, featuring the Center’s work on community health and immigrant health, with extensive links to resources for scholars, practitioners, and students.