February 15 Online Forum to Cover Genomics in Healthcare

February 9, 2023

The next MMA online Physician Forum will discuss “Genomics in Healthcare – The Intersection of Primary Care and Genetics” from noon to 1 pm on Wednesday, February 15.   

Genetics is playing an increasingly important role in both primary and specialty healthcare due to advances in knowledge about genetic diseases, technology, and ease in obtaining genetic tests. The goal of this symposium is to discuss the intersection of primary care and genetics.   

The first part of the session, led by Heather A. Zierhut, PhD, genetic counselor and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, will focus on when to consider a genetic cause of disease and to understand the genetic testing options that are available to providers. The second part, with Heewon Lee, MS, CGC, Genetic Counselor, Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota and Elena Fisher, MS, CGC, Genetic Counselor, Hennepin County Medical Center, is designed to understand and analyze the utility of direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) in both ancestry and health data with a focus on a patient bringing in their genetic testing results from a DTC-GT company.  

The symposium will conclude with a Q&A panel discussion related to the integration of genetics service delivery into primary and specialty care. Mark Rosenberg, MD, professor of medicine and vice dean for education and academic affairs at the University of Minnesota, will serve as moderator. 

Upon completion of this program the attendee will be able to:  

• Identify when to suspect a genetic cause of disease and describe different types of genetic and genomic testing indications and technologies.  

• Operationalize how to triage common genetic conditions within your clinical practice.  

• Outline the necessary steps for follow-up to direct-to-consumer and clinical genetic testing as well as the genetic services available. 

For those who cannot attend or want more information about the content, visit the Genomics in Healthcare distance learning course. This course will introduce concepts relevant to the integration of genomics into your healthcare practice including different types of genetic and genomic testing indications and technologies, limitations and benefits to the different types of genetic and genomic tests, and legal, ethical, and privacy issues associated with genetic and genomic testing in clinical and direct-to-consumer genetic testing settings. 

Click here to register.