Enabling Technologies for Diagnostics and Therapeutics

New enabling technologies allow low-cost providers to perform procedures that were not previously possible outside major medical centers. Procedures previously performed only in hospitals could be performed in clinics, doctors’ offices, or mobile clinics that could improve access to healthcare in rural areas. Primary care physicians will use new diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to perform many of the services previously referred to hospitals and specialists. A move toward more services performed in doctors’ offices, rather than hospitals, could create competition for hospitals and perhaps reduce healthcare costs and improve access to testing. The tests alert people to potential risks in their future, so they can take the necessary steps to be prepared, such as undergoing regular screenings for a particular disease as well as modifying their behavior and diet to reduce their chances of getting sick.

Consider one example from Myriad Genetics (MYGN), which has developed a molecular diagnostic product for breast and ovarian cancer, known as BRACAnalysis^®. This test is a comprehensive analysis of genes that assesses a woman’s risk for coming down with breast and ovarian cancer. According to Myriad Genetics, “A woman who tests positive with the BRACAnalysis test has an 82% risk of developing breast cancer during her lifetime and up to a 54% risk of developing ovarian cancer.”^[16] The company believes that BRACAnalysis provides patients with information that allows them to make “better informed lifestyle, surveillance, preventive medication and treatment decisions.”^[17] The company makes these projections based on research in various journals, which show that individuals who are genetically predisposed to breast cancer and ovarian cancer can significantly reduce their chances of having these diseases by using appropriate preventive therapies.^[18]