Adventist Health expands use of tech to fight hereditary cancer

Adventist Health aims to expand use of a technology platform in order to reduce hereditary cancer deaths and improve population health.

The Roseville, Calif.-based integrated delivery system plans to increase its use of the cancer risk assessment and management platform of CancerIQ.

Since beginning to work with CancerIQ, Adventist Health executives say nearly 8,000 patients in the past 18 months have already been served using the platform, which uses technology that enables healthcare organizations to identify, evaluate and manage patient populations based on individual genetic risks.

The CancerIQ platform will be integrated into Adventist Health’s Cerner electronic health record to streamline its rollout across the system. The end result will enable providers and patients to be armed with the genetic information they need to make personalized care decisions.

“We are excited to deepen our partnership with CancerIQ to help ensure our patients … have access to the highest standards of care and the preventive services they need to reduce hereditary cancer risk,” says Lisa Fowler, director of ambulatory clinical quality integration at Adventist Health.



“We are ready to build on the improvements we’ve seen since partnering with CancerIQ, including the clinical management of patients at increased risk for hereditary cancer, as well as providing an opportunity for in-depth conversations with patients about routine cancer screening,” Fowler adds.

CancerIQ’s technology makes it easier for providers to identify, evaluate and manage entire patient populations based on individual genetic risk factors, within existing EHR workflows. By analyzing family history, running predictive risk models and automating National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology, CancerIQ gives providers genetic expertise to prevent cancer or catch it earlier.

“Adventist Health will now be able to identify candidates for genetic testing, offer education and testing, and provide counseling across the network and various care settings,” says Candace Westgate, MD, director of the Adventist Health Early All-Around Detection (AHEAD) Program at Adventist Health, a population hereditary cancer risk assessment initiative.

When patients are identified as high-risk, CancerIQ helps navigate them to Adventist Health’s regional “circles of care,” which are formed by Adventist Health’s specialty groups—including gynecology, urology, oncology/hematology, dermatology, breast surgery, GI and psychology—to improve care coordination and drive better outcomes. These specialty groups offer enhanced cancer screening services such as breast MRI, and if appropriate, perform preventive surgeries that can reduce cancer risk altogether.