Genomics: The 'next wave,' says Yale CIO

Hospitals and health systems have been collecting data from medical devices, and now genomics is offering a route to transform that data into better care delivery.

With human genome sequencing technology, data from wearables, blood pressure and blood sugar monitors is becoming actionable, said Lisa Stump, CIO at Yale New Haven Health Systems and at the Yale School of Medicine, during an interview with The Enterprisers Project.

After decades of devising solutions for electronic health records and facilitating their adoption to create swaths of data, Stump said that genomics will be the “next wave” to make that data useful.

For instance, she envisions that in the not-so-distant future, newborns will have their entire genomes mapped. “It will become as routine as other data points we capture, like a child’s growth chart,” she noted.

Since much of how we metabolize drugs is determined by genetic expression, having data on whether a person is metabolizing a drug too quickly or too slowly allows providers to make faster and better-informed decisions on a patient’s prescription regimen.

In August, Stanford Medicine announced it would team up with Google Genomics to make genetic testing a basic component of healthcare that’s as simple for physicians as ordering blood work.

Digital technology is driving change in healthcare all over—it already has. From its York Street facility, Yale deploys intensivists who monitor intensive care units across four hospitals and then make video “visits” to patients to diagnose issues as they arise—a budding business opportunity for the Yale health system given how scalable the model is. Yale medical specialists can be made available nationally and internationally to tackle tough diagnoses, Stump said.

Previous studies show ICU telehealth technology boosted the survival rates of ICU patients while accelerating time to discharge, too.