Genomics can be critical to many different specialties within a hospital: from oncology and paediatrics to cardiology, nephrology, neurology, infectious disease and more.
It will be important to determine a model of care for patients in each relevant specialty. This might involve identifying the right places for genomics within an existing care pathway or creating a new model entirely.
Defining models of care is one of the key actions in the Genomics and Your Hospital toolkit, designed with hospitals in Victoria.
Model of care: What it means in a hospital setting
A model of care describes the way health services are designed for patients as they progress through a specific health condition.
It includes:
- The processes of care
- An assessment of the resources required and the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in the care pathway.
- An assessment of overarching considerations for the care pathway.
A model of care should:
- Be evidence based
- Be patient-centric, including consideration of specialty and priority populations
- Be developed in collaboration with clinicians, consumers and other healthcare partners
- Have robust outcome measures and evaluation processes
- Have considered costing, funding and revenue
Genomics model of care: What to include
Genomics has uncommon features that should be considered within your model of care. For example, you may need to consider:
- How patients will access genomic testing
- How and when patients are referred to specialist genetics service or expert centre
- What types of genomic tests will be provided
- How test ordering is managed and funded
- How test results are interpreted, and which specialists are involved
- How results are communicated to patients
- How results are used in care
- What follow-up may be needed for patients, including connections to support groups
- How the family implications of a test result will be managed
Your genomics leadership group can help identify the critical considerations and steps in your model of care.
Tool: Defining and documenting your genomics model of care
This guide will help you define and document your genomics model(s) of care, with key questions for you to consider at each step. This tool is meant to be a starting point for discussion, so please adapt it to suit your health service.