Identifying the business/technology issues and solutions for making clinical genomics standard of care – with a call to action
Introduction
Clinical genomics has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by providing personalized treatment options based on a patient’s unique genetic makeup. However, despite its promise, the adoption of clinical genomics as standard of care has been slow. In this blog post, we will examine the major issues affecting clinical adoption and discuss what needs to happen next.
The ever-present barrier to the adoption of clinical genomics is all the competing system priorities that require funding and resources. Additionally, the Meaningful Use program by the U.S. federal government, which started in 2011, forced most IT budgets to focus on regulatory compliance rather than advancing strategic programs like genomics.
Another continuing issue is that genetic testing and related services are often doctor or specialty-centered rather than patient-centered. This lack of a system-wide plan can lead to a lack of standardization and inconsistent results. Building a comprehensive clinical genomics program is a highly complex activity.
My list of issues and barriers
Based on my knowledge, experience, and industry involvement, I have compiled a list of 15 issues and barriers that should be systematically reviewed, followed by real efforts to solve each, starting with the clinical genomics champions and motivated stakeholders across the entire enterprise. Of course, there are more than 15 issues to work on, but I recommend starting with these significant topics first.
A comprehensive review of this post
A one-page summary of the post’s major issues, including executive highlights
Business issues that may be slowing the full implementation of clinical genomics
Tech products should clearly show their genomic capabilities and advance their integration of genomic data. (CTA#4)
We really want to see these actions come to life. Your input and ideas will determine the next steps and development of each action strategy. Progress will be tracked in future posts. This blog is not designed for passive readers. If you agree with these actions, let’s work together to make it happen. We will pursue these and future Call-to-Actions over time until we can verify that they have been achieved. Stay tuned!
To gather further insights into some of the business issues you may be facing, take this fast and easy survey. We will use the results in a follow-up post and continuing discussion of this topic.
Clinical genomics has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, but there are several issues and barriers that are slowing its adoption. To overcome these barriers, there needs to be a concerted effort by all stakeholders to address the clinical, business, technology, and governance issues. When we as an industry address and solve the issues on this list, we can move forward and make clinical genomics the standard of care.