NorthShore and Color complete delivery of clinical genomics in routine care to 10,000 patients

1/13/2020 – A year after Color and NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) announced their partnership to integrate clinical genomics into routine primary care, the two organizations have completed the largest U.S. genomics program to date. The partnership will expand in 2020 to 30 additional clinics within the NorthShore system and its newest partner, Swedish Hospital, while integrating more sophisticated information into clinical care including predictive polygenic risk scores for type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease.

The program, DNA-10K, has met its goals of enrolling 10,000 participants and providing patients with actionable clinical genomic results, including risks for cancer, heart disease and how genes affect responses to medication. This partnership incorporates clinical genomic results into patients’ electronic medical records (EMRs), where real-time alerts allow providers to leverage genomic insights at the frontlines of care for long-term actionability and enhanced decision making by physicians and providers at NorthShore.

“We’ve built a model of Advanced Primary Care that is transforming the delivery of healthcare,” said J.P. Gallagher, President and Chief Executive Officer of NorthShore. “We’ve seen firsthand that genetic information is a foundational part of healthcare for all patients. Clinically relevant findings provide lifesaving information that physicians can immediately use to diagnose, treat and even avoid diseases.”

The integration of cancer and cardiac insights, combined with pharmacogenomics, into clinical care via NorthShore’s EMR platform has proven to be a key component of the integrated approach and is generating significant value in patient care.

DNA-10K’s potential to improve patient care proved critical for NorthShore physicians. 116 or 99% of eligible physicians ordered the test for their patients. In an internal survey of physicians who ordered the test for their patients, more than half said DNA-10K has already provided a direct clinical benefit to patients, and 81% said it would in the future.

“Over the past year Color and NorthShore have demonstrated an effective, efficient, and scalable way to integrate genomics into clinical care.” said Color CEO Othman Laraki. “NorthShore’s approach to care delivery is a model that will drive the future of the healthcare industry.”

Beyond clinical genomic testing, DNA-10K provided key resources that helped NorthShore scale genomics efficiently to over 10,000 patients. Color’s unique genetic counseling infrastructure helped patients and NorthShore physicians interpret results and map patients’ healthcare plans for the future. Of the patients who took advantage of genetic counseling, 99% were able to within 48 hours of requesting an appointment compared to the industry standard of 4-6 weeks. DNA-10K also helped boost patient engagement throughout the care process. The test has empowered patients to take control of their health, with insights related to how they process certain medications: 99.8% of patients had at least one actionable finding associated with pharmacogenomics drug/gene interactions.

The program has been well-received by patients:

• 90% were satisfied with their experience.
• 82% would recommend genetic testing to others.
• 95% received their genetic test results in less than thirty days.
• Nearly 80% consented to participate in third party research.
• 70% said that the program enabled them to better manage their personal health.
• The program attracted more than 800 new patients to the NorthShore system.

DNA-10K was made possible in part by philanthropic support of NorthShore's Transformation Through Innovation Fund, a seed fund designed to help define new standards of patient care.