Health IT

Four companies using health IT to support a genetic test management infrastructure

With genetic testing on the rise, here are some health tech companies that are building services supporting this market.

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NextGxDx has raised at least $1.47 million in a new round of funding, according to a Form D filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s website. The fundraise followed a $1.5 million financing round last year and $5 million in 2014 to support its growth in the hospital market and provide transparency in the genetic testing market.

The health IT company describes itself on its website as dedicated to making genetic testing more transparent and efficient for stakeholders across the healthcare system. The business is one of many that are providing ways to manage the growing demand for genetic testing.

Among the services NextGxDx offers for physicians and other medical professionals are a simplified ordering system so they can curate testing information and screen labs based on cost, delivery times, and other factors. Their services also give physicians insight on ordering performance by labs and by physicians.

Here’s a look at a few more companies that are providing health IT support services to address the growth in genetic testing.

NantHealth, which went public earlier this year, developed a payer and provider platform that enlists data analysis in a clinical decision support service called Comprehensive Learning Integrated NantHealth Intelligent Clinical System, or CLINICS. The registration statement described CLINICS as enabling medical professionals to acquire and store genomic and proteomic data, combine diagnostic inputs with phenotypic and cost data, analyze datasets, securely deliver that data to providers in a clinical setting to aid selection of the appropriate treatments, among other services.

Health Gorilla added a service to connect physicians to 9,000 diagnostic lab providers and patients in an expansion of its physician portal last year. Those diagnostic services can include genetic tests, straight up blood tests and garden variety testing for bacterial or viral infections. As the company CEO and Founder Steve Yaskin described it in an email, the company automates placement and delivery of diagnostics orders and results, serving as the clearing house between physicians, vendors, such as labs, imaging, and genetic testing providers and patients. Health Gorilla also delivers results to patients with clinical reminders, scheduled alerts for regular services and results interpretations in some cases, combined with physician notes. “Our genetic compendiums include regular and proprietary genetic testing, such as Cologuard, FragileX, and Cancer Somatic panels. We soon will also deliver the medical structured data and scheduled future diagnostic recommendations to every iOS device” following the upcoming release of the Apple HealthKit,” Yaskin said.

Cancer IQ bills itself as a digital toolkit for cancer risk assessment and genetic testing services, according to the company’s website. The business offers physicians comprehensive risk assessment reports through its Screening Toolkit, based on patients’ personal history, family history, and empiric risk models. The toolkit uses data from the risk assessment to generate letters of medical necessity, streamline reimbursement, and send formal communications to the patient and their referring physician. A specialist portal includes components such as allowing physicians to enter the results of both germ-line and somatic testing panels, which are pre-populated in CancerIQ. All data is kept up to date as labs add or remove genes. Users can list appropriate medical management options based on the patient’s risk assessment, including interventions and clinical trials.

Photo: Bigstock Photo

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