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. 2015;12(1):23-32.
doi: 10.2217/pme.14.68.

'Someday it will be the norm': physician perspectives on the utility of genome sequencing for patient care in the MedSeq Project

Jason L Vassy  1 , Kurt D Christensen  2 , Melody J Slashinski  3 , Denise M Lautenbach  2 , Sridharan Raghavan  4 , Jill Oliver Robinson  5 , Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby  5 , Lindsay Zausmer Feuerman  5 , Lisa Soleymani Lehmann  6 , Michael F Murray  7 , Robert C Green  2 , Amy L McGuire  5
Affiliations

'Someday it will be the norm': physician perspectives on the utility of genome sequencing for patient care in the MedSeq Project

Jason L Vassy et al. Per Med. 2015.

Abstract

Aim: To describe practicing physicians' perceived clinical utility of genome sequencing.

Materials & methods: We conducted a mixed-methods analysis of data from 18 primary care physicians and cardiologists in a study of the clinical integration of whole-genome sequencing. Physicians underwent brief genomics continuing medical education before completing surveys and semi-structured interviews.

Results: Physicians described sequencing as currently lacking clinical utility because of its uncertain interpretation and limited impact on clinical decision-making, but they expressed the idea that its clinical integration was inevitable. Potential clinical uses for sequencing included complementing other clinical information, risk stratification, motivating patient behavior change and pharmacogenetics.

Conclusion: Physicians given genomics continuing medical education use the language of both evidence-based and personalized medicine in describing the utility of genome-wide testing in patient care.

Keywords: genomics; high-throughput nucleotide sequencing; pharmacogenetics; physician’s practice patterns; qualitative research.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Physician perception of present and future clinical utility of family history and whole genome sequencing, rated on a scale from 1 to 10 (‘Not at all useful’ to ‘Extremely useful’)
Values shown are mean (SD) utility ratings. p-values correspond to paired t-tests.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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