5th December 2009 PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA USA — ECRI Institute® an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, is offering a Web conference on Thursday, December 10, to help healthcare payers and providers understand the complex genetic testing market. Continuous advances in genetic research and molecular technologies, driven by the completion of the Human Genome Project more than a decade ago, have catapulted molecular diagnostic testing into one of the fastest growing and most costly service areas. The number of tests available exceeds 3,000 and counting.
Genetic Testing Uncovered: What Providers and Payers Need to Know, a 90-minute educational webinar led by ECRI Institute’s Evidence-based Practice Center staff, is being held Thursday, December 10, 2009, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. ET. The program is approved for 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
The experts will present an overview of the genetic testing market and will examine key issues that payers and providers are struggling to answer, such as:
What are genetic tests and how are they used in different patient populations?
How are the tests regulated and by whom?
What quality issues can affect test performance and who can perform them?
How should tests be evaluated to assess their analytic validity, clinical accuracy, and clinical utility?
What are the unresolved controversies about test development, regulation, coding, and clinical use?
What should health plans consider when trying to evaluate evidence on tests?
ECRI Institute speakers include Vivian H. Coates, VP, Information Services and Health Technology Assessment; Karen M. Schoelles, MD, SM, FACP, Director, ECRI Institute Evidence-based Practice Center, Medical Director, Health Technology Assessment Group; and Fang Sun, MD, Senior Research Analyst, Technology Assessment. A live interactive question and answer session will provide an opportunity for participants to pose questions to the experts.
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). ECRI Institute is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. ECRI institute designates this entire education activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 credits™. Physicians should claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.
Web conference registration is free for members of ECRI Institute’s Health Technology Assessment Information Service (HTAIS members should contact jmaslin@ecri.org for coupon code); $249 for nonmembers; and $149 for government agencies (use coupon code GGENE09). The deadline for registration is close of business on Tuesday, December 8, 2009.