- Alabama: The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) are partnering on a new genomic data health project to address health needs in the state. The project, which is funded by a $2 million appropriation from the state Legislature, will "recruit participants from every county to provide genomic analysis and interpretation free of charge," the Birmingham Business Journal reports. Participants will receive genetic counseling and referrals to additional care and screening as needed. Selwyn Vickers, SVP for Medicine and dean of the UAB School of Medicine, said, "This initiative could be transformative for the state of Alabama" (Ty West, Birmingham Business Journal, 3/10).
- Colorado: Park County, a rural area of 16,000 people, is pulling out all the stops to attract a doctor to serve the area. Three years after a local physician retired, which left the area without any local providers, the town of Fairplay is putting up a $600,000, five-room clinic for sale for just $1—so long as the provider who purchases the clinic moves into town. The town is also considering creating a health care district that would dedicate sales tax revenue to help cover the clinic's operating costs. And the county has offered to cover some startup costs if a doctor decides to come to Park County (Finnegan, Fierce Healthcare, 3/10).
- New York: The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has awarded $2 million to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to study pain management and opioid use. The one-year funding commitment will support researchers as they work to track pain medication use via EHR and pharmaceutical claims data. According to Brennan Spiegel, who will lead the research project, the study will examine if EHRs can change how providers discuss and manage pain. Most previous studies on the topic have not used EHR data, Healthcare IT News reports (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 3/10).
The journey to personalized medicine
From risk assessment to shared decision-making to self-management, learn the nine steps your organization can take on the path toward personalized medicine.