Promising Findings on the Value of PMI Initiatives

In a recent study by healthcare information technology company XIFIN and the Journal of Precision Medicine, only 24% of respondents felt their electronic health records (EHR), electronic medical records (EMR), or similar solution met the needs of hands-on precision medicine users.

With more healthcare systems adopting and implementing precision medicine informatics (PMI) initiatives, healthcare leaders are looking for insights around the emerging field to ensure they get the most value from their informatics investments from a diagnostic, clinical, and financial data perspective.

To help provide these insights, XIFIN and the Journal of Precision Medicine teamed up to explore the various factors that impact and support PMI program success. In the first report of a series from the global survey-based study, “The Value of Precision Medicine Informatics Initiatives,” XIFIN tested the hypothesis that specific combinations of technology, data integration, and approaches lead to better overall value of a PMI program.

Precision medicine programs have the potential to decrease adverse events and provide better outcomes at a lower cost by tailoring therapies based on individual patient characteristics, but without the proper technology, PMI value and program expectations are not being met. EHRs have been found to be ineffective in supporting precision medicine at the point of care. According to the study, nearly 60% of survey respondents indicated their enterprise system, such as EHRs, did not meet or only partially met their needs as a precision medicine user.

“The fundamental design of EHRs makes them unsuitable for precision medicine programs because detailed patient data, such as biomarkers, are locked within a PDF,” says Nigel Russell, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Precision Medicine. “Physicians need real-time access to the patient data that will enable them to make the best patient care decisions, and today, investors and providers alike are looking for technologies that provide comprehensive clinical, diagnostic, and financial data to ensure and build successful PMI programs.”

Study research revealed that providers more frequently adopt and use PMI technologies that include provider-facing clinical analytics solutions, real-world data aggregation technology, business intelligence tools, and clinical data warehouse solutions. Furthermore, the research indicates that the next wave of PMI technology expected to be adopted includes care team collaboration, tools to refer patients to certified genetic counselors, biomedical analytics solutions, and quality reporting capabilities.

Related: New Research Program Looks to Accelerate Precision Medicine

“While precision medicine is becoming more mainstream, it is still a nascent discipline. Sharing the details of initiatives across the healthcare community will serve to accelerate adoption and determine future best practices so that we can truly harness precision medicine informatics for better outcomes,” says Lâle White, CEO, XIFIN. “For instance, the survey results demonstrate early adopters are already thinking about how high quality real-world data will support and potentially accelerate clinical utility evidence development, coverage decision making, claims adjudication, expansion of drug indications, and regulatory submissions. Powerful information like this is essential to reducing the cost of healthcare and improving patient outcomes. It is imperative that organizations have a real-world data strategy both from a real-time access standpoint as well as from an actionable analytical insights perspective.”

Of those who have implemented PMI technologies, nearly three-quarters indicated that their initiative neared, met, or exceeded their expected value as compared to other technology investments. Finance, revenue, accounting, and billing executives are leading the planning of PMI initiatives, demonstrating a shift and awareness in the finance and revenue function of PMI value.

Additional key findings from the study include:

• Real-world data is currently used for disease insights, cohort studies, peer-reviewed publications, and clinical trial matching. Within three to five years, it will be used for coverage decision-making, drug safety and efficacy, clinical utility evidence development, regulatory submissions, expansion of drug indications, and claims adjudication.

• Future data accessibility trends include device and/or sensor data, patient-reported outcomes, financial data, claims and reimbursement data, and pharmacy data.

• The greatest positive impact of PMI initiatives is on physician and care team metrics and use and accessibility of real-world data metrics.

More information about this study can be found in “The Value of Precision Medicine Informatics Initiatives Report,” which can be downloaded at www.visualstrata.com.