Genomics is now critical to multiple specialties. Whole-of-service governance is needed to oversee its safe and effective implementation as more clinicians and units incorporate it into their practice.
This webpage can help you take the first step and establish a genomics leadership group for your organisation using good governance and best practice.
Forming a genomics leadership group is one of the key actions in the Genomics and Your Hospital toolkit, designed with hospitals in Victoria.
Why this is important
Genomics is changing healthcare. It will be used in many areas of care, in many ways: from diagnosis to prevention to patient management.
Having a dedicated genomics leadership group can help ensure your health service is ready and able to offer genomic care safely and effectively. As a hospital-wide group, it can provide oversight and advice to individual departments, and to the service as a whole.
The leadership group can help connect teams that are already using genomics safely and effectively with teams that are new to genomic care. This will enable sharing of best practice across your health service, help minimise unwarranted variation, monitor and manage risk and prevent duplication of work.
Establishing your genomics leadership group
This page is a starting point to help you think about the responsibilities your genomics leadership group might have. Each health service is different and will engage in genomics in different ways. As a result, the actual responsibilities of your leadership group should be determined by your health service with agreement by the group members.
Here’s how you can get started with forming a genomics leadership group for your organisation:
Identify key leaders with the right expertise
Having a diverse range of perspectives will help your group accomplish its purpose. Identify who in your organisation can be part of the group and provide:
- Executive leadership and sponsorship
- Clinical governance or quality and safety leadership
- Clinical leadership in pathology, pharmacy and genetics
- Genetic counselling expertise
- Clinical leadership from departments or programs using or are interested in using genomics (such as cardiology, nephrology, infectious disease, etc.)
- Professional governance leadership for the relevant workforces
- Analytics, electronic medical record or bioinformatics leadership
- Consumer expertise
Organise logistics
Before the group meets for the first time, determine:
- how often the group should meet
- how long meetings should take
- who will take meeting minutes
- what reporting lines should be in place; and
- what frequency of reporting is appropriate
Hold a kick-off meeting
Hold an initial ‘kick-off’ meeting to establish ground rules for the group. Bring your leaders together to determine the scope of your group, its priorities, and ways of working. This meeting can also be an opportunity to confirm the group’s Terms of Reference and measures of success.
Tool: Model Terms of Reference and suggested responsibilities
This template Terms of Reference can help you define the purpose and structures of your hospital’s genomics leadership group. The tool also lists suggested responsibilities your group may wish to undertake. Each hospital will implement new practices and govern in different ways, so please use this as a starting guide and adapt as needed.