Meeting

The field of genomics has expanded greatly since the sequencing of the human genome ten years ago. During this time, scientists have discovered a number of links between genetic variations and disease and have developed genomic and genetic tests based upon these findings. These tests can predict the response of an individual patient to a drug intervention or the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, but clinical practitioners have yet to employ many of these tests in practice.

A major impediment to the integration of these tests into practice is the lack of an adequate evidence base, especially regarding the impact of the use of these tests on clinical outcomes. As these new technologies play an increasing role in clinical decision-making and management of disease, the need for high quality evidence to demonstrate clinical validity and utility will only grow.

The Institute of Medicine’s Roundtable on Translating Genomic-Based Research for Health is hosting a public workshop that will perform an in-depth examination of the current approaches for generating evidence as well as explore new systems for generating high quality evidence in a more efficient fashion. Guided discussions will address specific examples from stakeholder perspectives on evidence, innovative approaches for generating evidence to enable diagnostic test development, and an examination of issues which are currently preventing the development of evidence as well as potential solutions. Stakeholders, including payers, policy makers, evidence-based review groups, health care providers and others will present their perspectives.