When the human genetic code was cracked over a decade ago, it brought with it the expectation that there would be immediate application to human diseases. Healthcare professionals as well as the general population expected there would soon be a cure for cancer and heart disease among other severe illnesses. Integrative doctors advised a cautionary approach to the expectation that one gene can cause disease. As PGx labs know firsthand, there is no such thing as a “cancer gene” or a “heart disease gene.”
In a recent article, Dr. Soram Khalsa, Medical Director, East-West Medical Research Institute, said, “Over the last 10 years, it has come to public knowledge that genes do not necessarily have to express themselves. Integrative doctors have brought to our patients’ attention that genes are turned on or off by our environment. Our environment includes the food we eat, the nutritional supplements we take, the thoughts we have, the exercise we do.”
PGx labs have an incredibly challenging but integral role in not only the lab system, but the health system in general. Tweet: Over 770,000 injuries or deaths occur due to drug reactions per year in the US alone, & #PGx promises to significantly lower this number
So many changes have happened in the past decade – just imagine how many more changes will come in the next 10 years? Today, PGx labs are developing impressive new tests to save lives and prevent illnesses, but they need to be more efficient, more organized, more knowledgeable, and more competitive than ever before to ensure their labs are positioned for continued success.
PGx Labs Need to Continue Evolving in Tech:
Most PGx labs are equipped with state of the art instrumentation including multiple, next generation DNA sequencing instruments, drug lexicon databases, and intelligence systems to provide a personalized blueprint specific to the patient, and more.
While PGx labs use top of the line lab instruments and intelligence systems for their complex testing needs, it’s equally important for labs to ensure their reporting software or LIMS is up for the challenge, so that lab executives can properly and efficiently inform referring physicians or groups about the findings, in an intuitive and easy-to-understand format.
PGX lab executives need a central laboratory reporting solution (LIMS) that will adapt across any type of test, device or laboratory to provide their lab, referring physicians and patients with the enhanced reporting that modern labs now require. In addition, today’s advanced labs need a platform that can easily integrate with their existing systems and interpret data from existing EMRs, LIMS, billing systems, lab instrumentation, and middleware systems; while affording them flexibility to report through multiple channels.
PGx Use Case:
One Pathagility client specializes in PGx and toxicology testing, and does approximately 200 PGx tests per day. With testing so sophisticated and unique, the lab needed a better way to provide clean and easy to interpret reports to referring physicians or groups that could be customized by case types, as well as branded to specific groups. The former, in-house, LIMS system that the lab used,, was not able to adapt to their growing testing capabilities and, as a result, couldn’t meet the lab’s needs. The lab’s former in-house system was only able to analyze 50 tests across toxicology and PGx. With Pathagility, the lab is now able to analyze over 95 different tests – with the ability to analyze even more as the lab continues to expand testing.
The team is now able to format reports by any number of factors, including case types. Previously providing two separate reports to referring physicians and groups, Pathagility now allows the lab to create just one easy to interpret visual report. In addition, the team can now work alongside marketing to rapidly integrate unique logos and design for each group it serves, to reinforce their branding.
How is your PGx lab prepared to keep up with the changing landscape? Does your current technology allow your lab to meet your needs, without adding manual work?
For more information on how your lab can gain complete control, check out these recent Pathagility resources:
2016 Resolutions For the Advanced Laboratory
Pathagility: Built For the Lab of Today
To learn more about how Pathagility can help your PGx lab can keep up with the changing technology landscape, request a 30-minute demo.