Melbourne Genomics is developing tools to support Victorian hospitals to implement genomic medicine safely and effectively.
Genomics is improving patient care in specialties ranging from cancer to nephrology to infection control – and the evidence for its use continues to grow.
Until now, however, Victorian hospitals have not had the tools and frameworks to bring together the rapidly evolving field of genomics with their clinical governance processes. In fact, we couldn’t find a resource for this anywhere. The safe, timely, and effective implementation of genomic medicine will need governance tailored to genomics.
Bringing healthcare leaders together
Victorian healthcare leaders identified a need for a tool to inform the safe implementation of genomics at a hospital level.
In March 2023, Melbourne Genomics brought together an expert group of chief medical officers, hospital executives and board members, clinicians, pathologists, health economists and consumer advocates. This group collaborated on a tool that applied well-established clinical governance frameworks to genomics.
Areas of implementation that needed statewide leadership were captured in a separate white paper for the Victorian Government.
A toolkit for hospitals
While genomic medicine has significant benefits, it also has several uncommon features that need to be considered.
The Genomics and Your Hospital Toolkit is being developed to support hospitals implement genomic medicine safely and effectively.
This resource started out as a self-assessment tool to help hospitals assess their readiness for genomic medicine. However, usability testing helped to pinpoint the key actions needed for any hospital to be confident in the quality of its genomic medicine services.
The toolkit is now being refined and will be made available in late 2024 following a further round of testing and development. Please reach out if your hospital is interested in being involved.
We are grateful to the multiple hospitals and healthcare leaders who have informed, designed and tested the toolkit.