With more than 60,000 genetic tests available, payors and providers may encounter difficulty in sorting through which ones are worthwhile. To help in navigating the expansive diagnostic terrain, ECRI Institute recently introduced a new service called ECRIgene, which offers a dynamic, searchable knowledge base of genetic tests.
“ECRIgene is an evidence resource for overwhelmed payors and providers who can use it to base their genetic test decisions on evidence, not hype,” says Vivian Coates, vice president of health technology assessment at ECRI Institute.
Using the portal, payors, providers, manufacturers, and labs can obtain practical, evidence-based information to understand which tests benefit their patients. ECRIgene delivers fast access to test descriptions and purposes, genes comprising each test or panel, and the diseases and conditions targeted by each test. The continuously updated database also keeps users abreast of changes within regulation and lab accreditation, payment codes, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and private payor coverage policies. The service also includes access to content experts for custom research requests and targeted answers.
ECRI Institute’s multidisciplinary experts designed a proprietary methodology to determine which tests to include in ECRIgene. The ones that matter are typically problematic, controversial, complex, and aggressively marketed to consumers, says Coates.
“Our members have been asking for a resource like this for years,” says Diane C. Robertson, director of health technology assessment at ECRI Institute. “As an unbiased, independent evaluator of health technologies, we knew we had to put genetic tests to the evidence bar test and establish a rigorous service to meet key needs of providers and payors.”
To learn more or to schedule a demonstration, visit ECRI Institute.
