The Standard

Seeking members to join in the development and pilot of scalable use cases that enable genomic data sharing to increase patient access to personalized and appropriate care. 

Health Level Seven® International (HL7®) and the HL7 FHIR Accelerator™ CodeX  have announced GenomeX, a new foundational domain, dedicated to advancing the interoperability of genomic data using HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) resources to improve care processes, clinical workflows and patient outcomes. Enabling the use of a patient’s genomic information in their care opens a new chapter in physicians’ ability to proactively address and more precisely target health conditions. 

Building on the work of the HL7 Clinical Genomics Work Group, including its FHIR Genomics Implementation Guide, CodeX’s GenomeX community will work together to design and execute scalable pilots that leverage the value of FHIR Genomics across multiple use cases. Proposed use cases include: 

• FHIR Genomics Data Exchange – Designing and building scalable FHIR Genomics interfaces so that genomic data can easily be shared from laboratories to EHRs and/or genomic repositories
• FHIR Genomics Operations – Enabling access to complex genomic data through APIs so that developers can more easily develop and populate data for a range of genomic applications

Initiating this genomics-focused domain within CodeX will expedite genomics use cases by pairing subject matter expertise with tested program management, technical and clinical support, as well as a governance structure.  

“We are excited that CodeX is broadening its efforts beyond oncology to include genomics, a fast-growing area of healthcare that will increasingly improve patient care,” said Steve Bratt, CodeX program manager.

“Scaling the data standards necessary to make genomics an integral part of everyday healthcare is a perfect opportunity to use the FHIR Accelerator model, which has been successfully executed by CodeX and other accelerators,” said Arthur Hermann of Kaiser Permanente and the facilitator for GenomeX. He continued, “I encourage all stakeholders in the genomics ecosystem to join us in this endeavor.” 

Members of the GenomeX community also weighed-in on the importance of this initiative: 

“For clinical genomics to develop beyond its current maturity, we need to represent genetic variation as computable data, not only in the laboratory, but wherever we interact with it. Sharing this data among the many domains where it’s required demands a modern, RESTful architecture. The FHIR-based solutions being developed under GenomeX are going to address these needs head-on, and we are eager to participate,” stated Peter DeVault, vice president, genomics and interoperability, Epic. 

“Having worked with CodeX in the past on several oncology-focused use cases, we are well aware of the potential an initiative like GenomeX has to affect change in terms of helping patients, providers, labs, developers, and other stakeholders access genomic data in clear and meaningful ways,” said Jen Webster, senior director, precision medicine RWE lead, Pfizer. 

To learn more about the GenomeX community and CodeX membership, please contact Mallory Carellas (mcarellas@mitre.org) or Kim Ball (kim.ball@pocp.com). Visit https://confluence.hl7.org/display/COD/Genomics for more information.