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Genomics EHRWelcome to the PennChart Genomics Initiative (PGI) at the University of Pennsylvania. PGI is a multidisciplinary collaborative that aims to optimize the electronic health record (EHR). The PGI team has successfully developed the EHR infrastructure supporting genomic medicine and is now among the most advanced in the nation. In response to repeated requests from other institutions for details about how to optimize their respective EHR platforms to easily order genetic testing directly through the EHR, as well as receive and store genetic test results in a standardized way, we have developed this website to facilitate the sharing of this information, making it accessible to other institutions globally.

On this website, you will find:

Videos

  • Optimizing Genomic Medicine in the Electronic Health Record - In this video, Katherine Nathanson, MD depicts the integration of genomics into the electronic health record at Penn Medicine via the PennChart Genomics Initiative. She covers the importance of optimizing genetics in the EHR, barriers to implementation of genomic medicine, and how to set up a genomic medicine friendly EHR.
     
  • Customizing the Electronic Health Record for Delivery of Pharmacogenetics - Sony Tuteja, PharmD, MS, BCPS, FAHA discusses pharmacogenetic variants that impact medical care for patients, specifically the types of medications they are prescribed. She describes how pharmacogenetic implementation was tested and implemented at Penn Medicine, including setting up an infrastructure that facilitates standardization and the inclusion of clinical decision support aids for clinicians.

Resources

You will be required to use your Epic login to access resources.

  • Penn Overview Tutorials - these videos will depict:
    • Orders - how to search for genomic tests in the EHR
    • Results - how genomic results appear in the EHR
    • Genomic Indicators - How genomic indicators are documented
    • Clinical Decision Support/BPAs - Scenarios wherein clinicians may be presented with a BPA
  • Penn Tip Sheets - View tip sheets on various topics related to implementing genomic medicine in the EHR
  • Penn Best Practice Advisories (BPAs) -View BPA flow based on base and criteria records
  • Epic Genomic Galaxy Guides - View guidelines for various aspects of Epic genomic medicine BPAs, genomic indicators, and results
  • Pharmacogenomics - Language for genomic indicators, Inline warnings, Interruptive BPAs and Patient Facing Genomic Integration

Personnel

Meet the investigators and staff of the PennChart Genomics Initiative

Publications

Read selected publications on integrating genomic data in the electronic health record

Feedback

Please tell us your thoughts about this website by completing the brief survey under the feedback tab!

This website is funded by National Cancer Institute.

Latest News

  • Announcing the Penn Medicine Center for Genomic Medicine Thursday, February 29, 2024

    We are delighted to announce the establishment of the Penn Medicine Center for Genomic Medicine (PMGM) led by Katherine L. Nathanson, MD, as Director, with Danielle McKenna, MS, CGC, as Deputy Director, and Sony Tuteja, PharmD, as Director of Pharmacogenomics.

    Penn Medicine is a national leader in genomic medicine, in which genetic and genomic information about an individual is utilized to inform their medical management. In particular, Penn Medicine has been an innovator in the integration of genomic medicine in our electronic health record (EHR), PennChart. The number of indications for genetic testing, as well as conditions for which genetic testing guides medical management, has exponentially increased over the past few years. The PMGM aims to support and enhance the growth of genomic and genetic informed clinical care to build upon our existing strengths in this area, improve coordination across the many existing programs utilizing genetics and genomics to inform clinical care, and ensure all patients across UPHS have equitable access to benefits from advances in genomic medicine. The PMGM also seeks to speed bench-to-bedside translational research in genomic medicine, leveraging discoveries made at Penn Medicine, and will work to broaden education in genomic medicine and unify the adoption of new technology and testing across the entirety of UPHS.

    About Dr. Katherine Nathanson, Director

    Dr. Nathanson is an internationally-recognized geneticist and we are thrilled that she has agreed to lead the PMGM. She currently serves as Deputy Director of the Abramson Cancer Center, Pearl Basser Professor for BRCA-Related Research at the Abramson Cancer Center, Director of Genetics for the Basser Center for BRCA, and Professor of Medicine in Genetics. Her clinical and research expertise is in cancer genetics/genomics.

    Dr. Nathanson’s research focuses on both inherited susceptibility to cancer and somatic genetic characterization of tumors, with interests across multiple tumor types, including testicular germ cell tumors, hereditary breast and ovarian cancers, melanoma and neuroendocrine tumors. She has led multiple studies elucidating the genetic underpinnings of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and the seminal studies elucidating genetic variation leading to testicular cancer susceptibility and the underlying disrupted pathways, as the leader of the Testicular Cancer Consortium (TECAC). Most recently, Dr. Nathanson has spearheaded the aforementioned integration of genomic medicine into PennChart.

    To learn more about Dr. Nathanson’s impressive career, visit this web page to read about her published work, awards, and extensive record of national service.

  • Integrating Genetic Testing in Electronic Health Records Saves Time, Penn Study Finds Wednesday, September 21, 2022

    PHILADELPHIA— Making it possible to directly order and work with the results of genetic testing through patients’ electronic health records – instead of through third-party portals – resulted in significant time savings for clinicians, according to a new study in Genetics in Medicine from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Although the gains per patient were measured in minutes, enabling ordering and managing tests through the electronic health record (EHR) represented at least a 75 percent reduction in what is largely clerical work, which could add up in a big way.