Sanford Health has announced a new genomics-based rural population health program in partnership with Helix.
Helix collaborates with regional health systems to identify people with genetic predispositions to certain diseases and conditions. According to Sanford, the partnership will drive precision medicine in the Upper Midwest region, making it possible for Helix to expand its panel of genetic markers and for individual patients to get future genomic tests run without the need for an additional sample. In addition, "digital reuse" will give providers and their patients continuous access to lifelong genomic information about their health.
Sioux Falls, SD-based Sanford serves more than one million patients and over 200,000 health plan members across 250,000 square miles. The partnership with Helix is pivotal to understanding the broader genomics landscape within Sanford Health system and across the country, said Sanford Health System Vice President Dr. Michael LeBeau, as part of the announcement.
Through large-scale screening, the program will build on Sanford Imagenetics genetic screening and testing programs. Optional participation in Sanford Health's rural precision medicine program will begin in early 2024, according to Sanford.
