Plans use EMRs to help predict drug-related adverse events

A new collaborative effort involving several managed care plans will use electronic medical records to identify genetic markers to help foresee possible risks linked with three serious drug‑related adverse events.

The International Serious Adverse Events Consortium (iSAEC) will use centralized clinical data warehouses of nine members of the HMO Research Network to examine the genetics related to three serious drug-induced conditions: hepatoxicity; serious skin rashes; and extreme weight gain in users of atypical antipsychotic medications.

The plans will use detailed clinical profiles--using their EMR databases--to identify and enroll potential subjects. The collaborators plan to compare the genetic and clinical data from EMR-derived "cases" with healthy control groups.

The goal will be to identify genetic mutations associated with the specific serious adverse events. The process is expected to take two years.

Many adverse drug reactions may be the result of genetic differences among patients, said Robert Davis, MD, a member of the HMO Research Network and director of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research-Southeast, in a statement. "Through our research with the iSAEC, we hope to identify these differences and screen patients before they are treated--thereby reducing morbidity and mortality associated with drug therapies."

The plans participating are: HealthPartners Research Foundation; Kaiser Permanente Georgia; Kaiser Permanente Hawaii; Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation; Group Health Collaborative and Geisinger Center for Health Studies; Henry Ford Health Care; Kaiser Permanente Southern California; Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan; and Kaiser Permanente Colorado.

For more details:
- see the iSAEC release