Precision Child Health:
A new era of care  

Precision Child Health is a movement that aims to understand each child’s health by integrating all the information they share about themselves, from their genetic code to their postal code, to provide individualized care that attends to their unique characteristics.

Precision Child Health isn't a department or clinic, but rather a SickKids-wide approach that empowers every corner of our campus to work together to improve the experience and care of every child. It is at the heart of our SickKids 2030 Strategic Plan, driving our efforts to transform how we understand and deliver individualized care.

With Precision Child Health, we will start to diagnose faster, treat smarter and predict better by:  

• Fueling research, discovery and accelerating translation through groundbreaking clinical trials and care
• Leveraging artificial intelligence responsibly to integrate big data spanning the genetic code to the postal code 
• Expanding access for patients to advanced genomic technologies 
• Ensuring every patient has the opportunity to engage in, and the right to benefit from, research 

Diagnose faster

We know that with the right information in hand, a diagnosis can quickly follow. Using new technologies, like genome sequencing and rapid diagnostic tests along with integrated environmental information, not only can we shorten the time between the onset of disease and receiving a definitive medical diagnosis, we can better understand how the disease course will be modified by the environment for each individual child. Ultimately a faster diagnosis that is contextually meaningful will enable more targeted and effective treatments, or care management plans, sooner.  

How we’re achieving this: 

• Expanding access to whole genome sequencing 
• Evaluating, assessing and implementing new and cutting-edge diagnostic tools in a safe and effective way  
• Supporting translational genomic research via the Genome Board, a service at SickKids that provides best practice recommendations on the assessment and return of clinically relevant research findings  

Treat smarter

Treating smarter means enabling the development of novel precision therapies, expanding access to existing therapies, and delivering them safely and effectively through innovative clinical trials. This is not an easy feat, which is why SickKids is enlisting the help of local, national, international, and industry partners. Together we’ll enable access to new therapies, surgical interventions and medical devices.  

How we're achieving this:  

• Advancing local, national and international partnerships, both in industry as well as institutional to expand access to novel, emerging and existing therapies for our patients 
• Launching an Advanced Therapeutics Board to advise on and support an equitable approach to bringing next generation therapies into fruition  

Predict better

What if we could stop disease before it starts? Precision Child Health aims to move us away from reactive care, and instead promote health not only by preventing disease before it happens but by promoting factors that encourage wellness. Using deep learning, AI and clinical decision-support tools, we’ll unlock the power of data to help us better understand what might come, prevent unnecessary tests, reduce harm and risks, avoid adverse drug reactions and improve the patient experience.  

How we're achieving this:  

• Creating new pathways for patients and families to easily and equitably access research opportunities
• Enabling new data structures and connections, integrated with the patient’s chart, to ensure a full understanding of the whole child in front of us  
• By using pharmacogenetics to better predict how each child might respond to medication

Partnerships

Forging partnerships on local, national, and international levels is important for amplifying impact, driving progress and ensuring equitable access to individualized care for all children. 

Explore some of the partnerships fueling Precision Child Health:  

• International Precision Child Health Partnership (IPCHiP): A partnership between SickKids, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), Boston Children's Hospital (BCH), UCL Great Ormond Street Institute for Child Health (GOS ICH) and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)
• Precision Child Health Partnership: A partnership between SickKids and CHU Sainte-Justine
• Precision Child & Youth Mental Health: A collaboration between SickKids and CHEO