Leadership Blog

The State of PMC Public Affairs: An Update on the Coalition’s Enhanced Capacity for Impacting the Public Dialogue About the Future of Health Care

With investments in multi-cancer early detection tests, gene therapies, and gene editing techniques, innovators are betting on the future of personalized medicine. But PMC research shows that only 36 percent of non-small cell lung cancer patients are benefitting from personalized medicine today. In the coming years, advocates will need to bend public policies and clinical practices much further toward the principles of personalized medicine.

Anchored by the forthcoming launch of an enhanced website this year and by a demonstrated track record of efficiency and effectiveness, the Coalition stands increasingly ready to meet the new and persistent challenges facing the field in the public arena in 2023 and beyond.

PMC’s success in disseminating research results underscores the Coalition’s ability to deliver a public impact for its supporters. Research studies in health care cost an average of about $590,000 each. Yet, in 2022 alone, with a total research budget of less than $600,000, the Coalition published two reports and four journal articles whose significance is still resonating at relevant professional societies and in the press. As of this morning, the PMC/Diaceutics special report on clinical practice gaps in non-small cell lung cancer is still second on the list of the most-read articles in JCO Precision Oncology during the past 60 days, six months after its publication on October 31.

In partnership with Mediaplanet, the Coalition has also published more than a dozen educational articles reaching tens of millions of patients digitally and through mainstream media outlets including the USA Today and The Toronto Star, despite receiving less than $65,000 in funds earmarked for public awareness campaigns since 2020.

And its Annual Personalized Medicine Conference has emerged as a leading conference in health and medicine. By examining the issues facing its members across multiple business sectors, this year’s 20th anniversary conference is designed to help inform the direction of PMC’s future programs in education, advocacy, and evidence development.

If you have not done so already, I encourage you to consider increasing your institution’s support of the research and conference activities that will help drive PMC’s public impact in the coming years. Your investments go a long way for patients and health systems.