With 25 years of innovation experience, Ambry has been a leading pioneer in genetic testing. But Ambry prioritizes more than performing testing. Since the launch of the Ambry CARE Program® in 2019, Ambry has also consistently helped to improve the delivery of genetic services.
Why CARE?
We know significant gaps exist between medical guidelines and connecting patients with proactive options for cancer screening and risk reduction. For instance:
• 93% of women at high risk for developing breast cancer who qualify for breast MRI have not had one.
• 80% of people with BRCA-related Breast and/or Ovarian Cancer syndrome may not know it.1
• 1 in 279 people have Lynch syndrome, the most common hereditary cause of colorectal cancer. >95% may not know it.2
Most patients are open to genetic testing—76% of patients would have genetic testing if it would help them make proactive healthcare plans.3 However, co mpeting demands make it difficult for healthcare providers to thoroughly address each patient’s needs within the limited time available during an appointment, particularly during well visits in which most decisions about proactive care are made. This includes the information collection and analysis that are needed to perform comprehensive breast cancer and hereditary cancer risk assessments. Digital health technologies are a promising avenue for improving the efficiency and accessibility of genetic healthcare, and have been shown to provide health information that is noninferior to physician consult.4
Ambry’s solution to optimize patient/provider time together and standardize the quality of care at scale is the CARE (Comprehensive, Assessment, Risk, and Education) program. The Ambry CARE Program leverages digital health solutions to enable health systems to stratify patients by health risks, driving care that is proactive and patient centric. CARE empowers clinicians to make timely, evidenced-based medical decisions while benefiting from practice productivity.
Patient-Centric
CARE was built to meet the needs of today’s patients. CARE offers convenient access—through a patient’s smart phone—powered by technology. This technology enables them to provide and digest information in their own homes, on their own schedules, with the involvement of family members. This sets patients up for informed discussions with their healthcare teams that lead to decisions aimed toward better outcomes.
Patients want quality clinical care, and many prioritize convenient access powered by technology. In fact, 4 in 5 patients want access to technology that helps them manage their healthcare experience—it can boost satisfaction and retention.5
Digital health technologies have been shown to:
• Improve accessibility to genetic healthcare
• Be well-accepted by patients
• Provide education that is comprehended as well as or better than when received from a healthcare provider
• Result in the same or less distress than discussion of the same topics with a healthcare provider6
The Ambry CARE Program® was developed with patients' informational and experiential needs in mind so that they can become engaged partners in their own healthcare journey.
How Does It Work?
A secure, HIPAA-compliant application collects and analyzes patients’ medical and family history information prior to in-person visits. The patient is sent an email/text inviting them to access the CARE platform and provide this information.
CARE analyzes the medical and family history information provided by patients and determines their lifetime risk of breast cancer and whether they qualify for hereditary cancer testing. This supports customized cancer screening and risk reduction plans to maximize the chance for cancer prevention or early detection.
For instance:
• A woman with a greater than 20% lifetime risk of breast cancer may qualify to have annual breast MRI in addition to the standard annual mammogram.
• Someone who meets guidelines for genetic and chooses to have hereditary cancer testing may be found to have a pathogenic variant or mutation in a gene that predisposes them to certain cancers. Their healthcare plans can then be modified in order to try to detect cancer sooner, when it is easier to treat, or to reduce the risk of cancer.
Patients can access education on a variety of topics from within the CARE platform, including possible test results and implications. CARE is also available in five languages so that more patients can learn in their native language. CARE empowers patients to take a more active role in managing their health.
Stay tuned for future blogs focused on how The Ambry CARE ProgramF supports healthcare teams in providing proactive patient care and promotes practice productivity.
Sources
1. https://blogs.cdc.gov/genomics/2023/07/25/persistent-underutilization/
2. Win, A. K., Jenkins, M. A., Dowty, J. G., Antoniou, A. C., Lee, A., Giles, G. G., Buchanan, D. D., Clendenning, M., Rosty, C., Ahnen, D. J., Thibodeau, S. N., Casey, G., Gallinger, S., Le Marchand, L., Haile, R. W., Potter, J. D., Zheng, Y., Lindor, N. M., Newcomb, P. A., … MacInnis, R. J. (2017). Prevalence and penetrance of major genes and polygenes for colorectal cancer. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 26(3), 404–412. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.epi-16-0693
Hampel H, de la Chapelle A. The search for unaffected individuals with Lynch syndrome: do the ends justify the means? Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2011 Jan;4(1):1-5. doi: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-10-0345. PMID: 21205737; PMCID: PMC3076593.
3. U.S. public opinion about personalized medicine survey shows public ... (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://www.personalizedmedicinecoalition.org/Userfiles/PMC-Corporate/file/us_public_opinion_about_personalized_medicine.pdf
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6906616/
5. https://patientengagementhit.com/news/convenience-technology-use-can-boost-patient-satisfaction
