Personalized medicine: putting precision oncology into practice

Rush University Medical Center is the first health care organization to launch medical record company Epic's module for genomic results, giving providers the tools they need to tailor patient care at the molecular level. Rush will use the module as part of its Precision Oncology Center to integrate the power of genomic sequencing data into oncologists' daily workflows.

"To really deliver on the promise of precision oncology, providers need to access, interpret, and apply this genomic information where and when clinical decisions are made: the EHR," said Dr. Mia Levy, the Sheba Foundation Director of the Rush University Cancer Center and a national leader in biomedical informatics. "This new technology makes point-of-care insights and interventions possible."

The module unlocks critical data and seamlessly weaves structured results of genomic testing into the workflows of the cancer care team. When a Rush physician believes that a patient would benefit from genomic testing, the physician sends a tumor and/or blood sample to Tempus, Rush's genomic testing partner.

Tempus' broad panel genomic tests identify a patient's actionable genomic variants and yield therapeutic options - including matched clinical trials - associated with the patient's molecular and clinical profile. Tempus' report flows directly into Epic, allowing clinicians to make data-driven decisions customized to each patient. Integrating genomic data into the electronic health record provides clinicians with a single view of a patient's genomic and other clinical information.

"Until now, to the best of our knowledge, no other external lab has been able to seamlessly integrate next generation sequencing genomic testing directly into an electronic medical record as structured variant results, and we are thrilled to bring this new functionality to the market and providers with Rush," said Ryan Fukushima, Tempus' chief operating officer. "Epic's new module allows clinicians to order a Tempus test with a click of a button, and merges those test results into a patient's record, arming the care team with all the data needed to make treatment decisions in real time."

"Cancer is a disease of the genome," Levy said. "But the tiny changes in our DNA that allow some cells to become cancer cells also provide clues to how we can treat and prevent cancer. Connecting genomic data with the rest of a patient's story provides a more complete picture."