In October 2020, the Center for Genomic Interpretation (CGI) was awarded funding from the Utah Cancer Genomics Program of the Utah Department of Health to support “Quality Matters: Recognizing and Assessing Differences in BRCA and Lynch Syndrome Genetic Tests Across Laboratories Most Used by Utah’s Clinicians.” In collaboration with the Association for Utah Genetic Counselors (AUG), the program will assess how laboratories differ in scientific approaches to variant classification, availability of multilingual support, genetic test design, accessibility to financial aid, and other important lab test differentiators. These assessments will focus on the tests most ordered by Utah clinicians, and all information will be freely available on the website TestWisely.org. This project is expected to improve provider knowledge about clinical genetic testing and advance Utah Department of Health’s goal to improve care for patients who are at a particularly vulnerable juncture of their healthcare journey, particularly in underserved communities throughout the state.
“We are especially excited about the potential to reach clinicians working in underserved populations that are often the last to benefit from advances in medicine” said Erin Heckaman, MS, licensed genetic counselor, President of AUG in 2020, and co-Principal Investigator on the grant in her role as Director of Genetic Counseling Services at the Center for Genomic Interpretation. “By bringing together the resources from CGI, AUG, and the Utah Department of Health, we can provide an openly accessible resource to drive quality and excellence of care for all patients throughout the state.”
This project is supported by Cooperative Agreement Number, DP19-1905, funded through the Utah Department of Health by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.