December 2020

Texas provider to focus on oncology initially, then expand across specialties and care settings

RALEIGH, NC, and ABILENE, TX – Dec. 16, 2020 – Hendrick Health will deploy the 2bPrecise platform as the foundation for its precision medicine program. The initial focus will be in cancer care, where a significant volume of genomic testing is already being done, with enterprise-wide utilization to follow.

Located three hours west of Dallas, Hendrick is the flagship healthcare provider for mid-west Texas. Anchored by Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene, the health system offers a full range of care including oncology, cardiology, orthopedics and women’s health, with nearly 1,000 healthcare providers on staff. Other facilities include Hendrick Medical Center South in Abilene and Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood in Brownwood.

“Our entire team is committed to innovation and personalized care,” says Jose Vega, MD, Medical Director of Hendrick Cancer Center. “Precision medicine will help us improve quality, outcomes and patient wellbeing. It provides unprecedented opportunities to arrive at more accurate diagnoses and select highly effective targeted therapies, as well as to more easily identify patients at risk for inherited disease.”

With Hendrick Health’s initial focus on cancer care, the 2bPrecise solution will deliver results from tumor genomic testing (somatic information) to help oncologists identify the treatment most likely to produce optimal results based on the molecular profile of the malignant tissue. If they choose, providers likewise can use pharmacogenomic testing to help identify the safest and most effective medications for each individual patient, as well as view information suspected to represent germline variations that may indicate the patient or family members would benefit from further genetic testing.

2bPrecise is designed to solve workflow and data management challenges faced by healthcare organizations implementing precision medicine. Genomic test results typically are returned to the physician in a PDF or require logging in to the testing lab’s proprietary portal. This makes the information inconvenient to access and, because it is not saved as discrete data, difficult to analyze and use more broadly. In addition, physicians will have fingertip access to evidence-based clinical guidelines and current knowledge resources to support decision making.

“It’s critical to bring this data into the clinician’s workflow, with no extra steps, so the insights can be factored into clinical decision making,” says Dr. Vega. “This allows our team to deliver better and more efficient care.”

Agnostic to various laboratory information systems and electronic health records (EHR), 2bPrecise will consume genomic data from Hendrick’s chosen labs (LabCorp, ARUP and NeoGenomics) and deliver it within the organization’s EHR, Allscripts Sunrise™.

“We’re honored to work with the leaders and clinicians at Hendrick Health,” said 2bPrecise CEO Assaf Halevy. “Their perspective on the value precision medicine delivers is tightly aligned with ours, and we look forward to collaborating to help Hendrick Health deliver outstanding care to patients.”

About 2bPrecise
The cloud-based 2bPrecise platform consumes genetic/genomic data from molecular labs and clinical information from EHRs, synthesizing them into a clinical-genomic ontology. The 2bPrecise Genomic EHR Mentor (GEM™) brings the resulting precision medicine insights into a physician’s EHR workflow for immediate and timely use. With discrete test results consolidated into an invaluable data set, provider organizations are likewise equipped to drive efficient workflows for genomic interventions, extract population analytics, design clinical intervention programs, build cohorts for trial recruitment, enable participation in research studies and more. Learn more at www.2bPreciseHealth.com.

Media Contact
Erica Navar
Account Executive
Aria Marketing (for 2bPrecise)
(909) 538-9541
enavar@ariamarketing.com

Pittsburgh physicians seek to improve medication safety, efficacy for patients

RALIEGH, NC – December 3, 2020 – Handelsman Family Practice, which provides care to patients in southeast Pittsburgh, has implemented the 2bPrecise pharmacogenomics (PGx) solution. The solution makes patient genomic information available to providers at the point of care, so they can ensure medications they prescribe are safe for each individual and are the ones most likely to provide fast therapeutic benefit.

According to Gordon Handelsman, MD, owner and practice medical director, PGx gives providers greater insight into how each patient’s body will process specific drugs. “Traditionally, physicians have had to use the ‘trial-and-error’ method of selecting medications,” he says. “Based on the patient’s diagnosis, you would choose the drug you thought most likely to be effective, based on broad-based clinical trials or information provided by a drug rep. You had no way to be sure it would be best option for the individual sitting in front of you.”

That led to providers prescribing one drug, waiting to see if it worked, then altering the dosage or moving on to a second option. This process could repeat itself over weeks or months, with no relief in sight for the patient. This prolonged approach has especially serious consequences for patients with conditions like depression or high cholesterol, among others.

With PGx results brought into the clinicians’ workflow via 2bPrecise, providers can see if the patient is a fast, normal or slow metabolizer of a given medication, which has a tremendous impact on safety and efficacy. For example, patients who have suffered a heart attack are often prescribe clopidogrel (e.g., Plavix) to prevent blood clots and ward off a second cardiac event. Fast metabolizers, however, process clopidogrel so quickly that it provides almost no therapeutic value – meaning it does little more than a placebo to avert a second heart attack. In slow metabolizers, the drug builds up in the patient’s body, likewise interfering with the intended benefit and potentially leading to toxicity.

“Having this knowledge in hand is particularly helpful when we care for elderly patients taking multiple medications,” Dr. Handelsman added. “Drug-gene interactions can contribute to avoidable problems such as the likelihood of falling and cognitive issues like confusion – in addition to not adequately treating the underlying condition.” He also notes that providing this level of service and innovation has a positive impact on patient satisfaction and loyalty.

Availability of in-workflow PGx functionality has also helped the practice weather challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Providers are able to discuss PGx with patients during a telehealth visit and, with consent, the patient can do the PGx test (a simple cheek swab) in their own home. The follow-up visit to discuss results can likewise be conducted via telehealth.

“2bPrecise has seen a dramatic increase in family medicine practices seeking to leverage genomics,” says Assaf Halevy, CEO and cofounder of 2bPrecise. “PGx is a terrific starting point to demonstrate how precision medicine can impact day-to-day and patient-by-patient decision making. We’re honored to work with innovators like Dr. Handelsman and his care team.”

About 2bPrecise
The cloud-based 2bPrecise platform consumes genetic/genomic data from molecular labs and clinical information from EHRs, synthesizing them into a clinical-genomic ontology. The 2bPrecise Genomic EHR Mentor (GEM™) brings the resulting precision medicine insights into a physician’s EHR workflow for immediate and timely use. With discrete test results consolidated into an invaluable data set, provider organizations are likewise equipped to drive efficient workflows for genomic interventions, extract population analytics, design clinical intervention programs, build cohorts for trial recruitment, enable participation in research studies and more. Learn more at www.2bPreciseHealth.com.

Media Contact
Erica Navar
Account Executive
Aria Marketing (for 2bPrecise)
(909) 538-9541
enavar@ariamarketing.com