Precision Medicine Is Made Possible with Understandable, Affordable Genetic Testing
March 21, 2022
Sanford Health uses genetic test results to optimize prescriptions and recommend preventive measures. The program has materially impacted the treatment of more than 1,300 patients since 2018.
Sanford Health has embraced the role of precision medicine in patient care. It launched its Imagenetics Initiative in 2014 with the goal of making genetic information as available to patients and providers as any other kind of lab test. So far, more than 14,000 patients have received test results from the Sanford Chip. More than 90% of those tests revealed a variant in a gene known to affect the metabolism of medication, and 1.5% identified a variant associated with a predisposition for disease. In total, the results have prompted providers to modify the care plans of about 1,300 patients to fit their prescriptions to their unique genetics.
How They Did It:
Offered genetic testing to all patients and subsidized the cost
Shared results in an understandable format in MyChart
Trained providers to discuss genetic test results with patients
Developed clinical decision support to notify providers of relevant results
