HL7 Personalized Medicine Part 2: Getting Genetic/Genomic Data into the EHR

Grant Wood, Senior IT Strategist at Intermountain Healthcare’s Clinical Genetics Institute, and Samuel (Sandy) Aronson, Executive Director of IT for the Partner’s Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine. In the Fall of 2009, Intermountain Healthcare’s Clinical Genetics Institute and the Partner’s Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine announced a technological breakthrough that may help lead to the medical record of the future and treatment plans that are tailor made for each individual – right down to their DNA. For the first time ever, comprehensive genetic test results were transmitted from a genetics lab to an individual patient’s electronic health record, using a newly developed HL7 standard message. Imagine that a patient undergoes genetic testing, but nothing of concern is found. Three years from now, researchers discover a genetic marker that raises a red flag for cancer. If the patient’s test results are in his medical record, a computer program could see the marker, send an automated notice to his physician, and suggest a plan for screening – all, potentially, long before there are signs of disease. The system might also single out a drug that would have the greatest chance for success, based on the genetic makeup of the individual – and the tumor. Grant and Sandy describe the infrastructure that has been put in place as well as future expansion plans and how you can participate.