Some employees at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika will have the option of participating in a genetic screening program to test the effectiveness of cholesterol drugs they are taking.
The pilot program, developed by HudsonAlpha Health Alliance LLC in Huntsville, will pair data from genetic screening with that from the effectiveness of statin drugs, plus other health factors, to help find optimal treatments.
“Often, medications will prove effective for one person, but ineffective for another person,” EAMC and HudsonAlpha said in announcing the program. “This program may help health care providers optimize treatments for individuals participating in the screening program.”
“We firmly believe that the field of genomics holds unlimited possibilities in improving our overall health and well-being,” said Susan Johnston, VP of Human Resources with East Alabama Medical Center.
The program is voluntary, Johnston said, but hospital officials believe it can be beneficial for employees’ health. “ Our intention is to help improve the overall long-term effectiveness of the healthcare of our employees, and provide them and their physicians with information to make the best possible health care decisions.”
“The future of medicine includes an integrated analysis of personal genetic data, combined with other patient health data, that will help guide care and therapy,” says Devin Absher, PhD, director of genomic health at HudsonAlpha. “The Health Alliance provides opportunities for health systems and employers to access our genomics expertise to improve health care. By working closely with physicians and health care providers, the HudsonAlpha Health Alliance works to develop customized genomic health screening programs for health systems, physician networks, and employers, and provides an integrated clinical solution that is often a challenge for these groups to build themselves,” Absher explains.
The HudsonAlpha Health Alliance was built to enable health systems to advance their precision medicine programs through a collaboration with HudsonAlpha Health Alliance’s team of scientists, clinicians, and educators.
