Morales began her career as a bench scientist and soon realized she wasn’t satisfied with focusing on one, specific scientific question. She says she always felt that scientific developments are outpacing our ability to relay these findings to those who use them, and she often wondered how to make physicians comfortable with having so many new options.

 

She says that while we've seen success using precision medicines to tailor treatments, applying precision medicine more effectively requires an evidence-based assessment of how well that genomic information leads to or predicts the likelihood of response. Morales notes that after 2018, there was an uptick in eligibility for genome-targeted therapy but that a deeper understanding of the details of new studies is needed to utilize targeted drugs in a way that really optimizes patient care.

 

“It's about improving the process of precision medicine. You can have all that information out there, but if you can't present it to the clinician at the right time, it isn't very valuable,” says Morales.

 

She adds that as more and more data comes out and patient populations are stratified into smaller and smaller subsets, physicians need a system in place to filter that information and deliver it to them at the point of decision-making.

 

Morales says, "So, we're precisely defining a population, but those populations are getting smaller and smaller.” That presents an operational challenge to physicians and the healthcare system. She continues by saying, “If they offer a drug that benefits a patient population, I think we should ensure that all the patients that qualify are given access to that.”

 

She points out that physicians need the most up-to-date clinical evidence at the point of care to make appropriate decisions, and Trapelo’s clinical decision-support system was built on top of a robust knowledge system to do just that. The platform identifies appropriate biomarkers, labs, tests, and therapies in a way that closes the knowledge and communication gap that exists in clinics and helps eliminate testing disparities.

 

Morales adds that payers benefit from knowing the clinical evidence is being followed at the point of care. Having confidence that physicians are testing the appropriate biomarkers and that testing and treatments are being chosen based on evidence allows payers to balance what’s right both clinically and financially. This new approach streamlines prior-authorization and eliminates friction along the path of providing patient access to life-changing drugs.

 

We’re always grateful for our time with Janine on the podcast because she is so knowledgeable about the challenges of applying precision medicine in the practice. We hope you tune in to hear more of what she has to say.