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Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Center for Applied Health Research on Aging

Eli Lilly EMC2 Diagnostics

Title:

An Electronic Health Record-Based Medication Complete Communication (EMC2) Strategy for Genomic Testing

Dates:

September 2021 – May 2023

Funding Source:

Eli Lilly and Company

Grant Number:

SP0067440

Background:

Medical decision making in hematology/oncology is increasingly being informed by biomarker testing (otherwise referred to as Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) or molecular testing), which has revolutionized cancer research, therapies, and interventions by enabling rapid, accurate, and cost-effective sequencing of large portions of the genome. The application of NGS has led to advancements in the discovery of genomic biomarkers, and targeted cancer therapies, and helped catalyze the advent of precision oncology where treatment plans are individually tailored to the patient based on biomarker alterations present in the patient’s own cancer cells.

This has implications for patients’ pathological diagnoses, hereditary risks, and importantly the best choice of available treatments. In emerging cases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and thyroid cancers where new therapies may offer greater benefit based on the tumor profile, biomarker profiling is often used to identify oncogenic alterations that can be targeted by small biomarker inhibitors or monoclonal antibodies during the life course of the patient’s treatment plan. Biomarker testing allows oncologists to rapidly respond to tumor mutations and adapt treatment plans accordingly.

Abstract:

We are proposing to tailor our developed Electronic Health Record (EHR) Medication Complete Communication (EMC2) strategy in the EPIC EHR platform (Verona, WI) to address patient, clinician, and systems-level barriers around precision diagnostics implementation in one or more lung Cancer performance site. Studies have shown that clinical pathway tools may drive the appropriate selection of therapy based on biomarker expression. We will create new tools within the EHR to promote patient education and informed decision-making whenever available biomarker testing might inform the choice of treatment for patients with stage 3 and stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) eligible for systemic therapy.

The Specific Aims are:
  1. Explore existing patient, clinician, and healthcare system barriers to biomarker testing in cancer care, and the feasibility and acceptability of an EMC21 tailored oncology strategy at Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center clinics.
  2. With feedback from Aim 1, tailor our existing EMC2 strategy to promote informed decision-making for biomarker testing and targeted treatments.
  3. Pilot test the EMC2-Diagnostics strategy to establish initial acceptability and feasibility.

Contact

  • Principal Investigators: Michael S. Wolf, PhD MPH
  • Project Lead: Chandana Vuyyuru