New Program To Help Physicians Understand Role Of DNA-Based Preventive Medicine

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Also Included In: Genetics
Article Date: 05 Nov 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) and Navigenics, Inc. today announced a medical education program designed to improve physicians' understanding of genetic risk factors for disease, the current evidence about the use of genomic tools and technologies to determine risk, and promising practices for utilizing those tools to aid in disease prevention. Through an unrestricted educational grant from Navigenics, ACPM is independently developing this continuing medical education (CME) course, titled Genetic Risk, Screening and Intervention, to address the growing use of genetic testing services and to examine their evidence-based impact on the practice of medicine.

"The ACPM has a long history of leadership in helping physicians integrate preventive medicine into their practices," stated Dr. Vance Vanier, chief medical officer of Navigenics. "We are very pleased to provide support that enables ACPM to advance their leadership into the next generation by educating physicians about the current scientific and clinical frameworks underlying preventive genomic medicine."

"We are beginning to see healthcare's evolvement from a discipline focused primarily on treating existing diseases and conditions to one that gives equal credence to preventing those diseases in the first place," said ACPM Executive Director Michael Barry, CAE. "We are excited to be helping physicians on the frontline of care become more familiar with multiple risk assessment strategies and the evidence behind new technologies - including genomic applications - that can help patients better understand their risk for disease and take appropriate actions to mitigate that risk."

ACPM members and national experts in genomics, prevention and epidemiology are designing this course to delve into many issues related to genetic risk factors, screening and disease prevention. Specifically the program:

- Compares and contrasts the evidence for genetic screening and risk factors to epidemiological approaches typically used to identify disease risk;

- Explores the potential benefits and harms derived from different types of genetic tests; and

- Examines the current evidence around genomic association studies and provides a framework for evaluating their quality.

The course will be available on the ACPM website and DVD-ROM in early 2009 and meets the standards of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.

About Navigenics

Navigenics, Inc. is a privately held company based in Redwood Shores, Calif. The company was founded by David Agus, M.D. and Dietrich Stephan, Ph.D., with the goal of improving health outcomes in individuals across the population. Navigenics educates and empowers customers with knowledge of their genetic predispositions, and then motivates them to act on the information to prevent the onset of disease, achieve earlier diagnosis, appropriately manage disease, or otherwise lessen its impact. Navigenics' lead investors are Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Sequoia Capital and MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures. More information can be found at http://www.navigenics.com.

About American College Of Preventive Medicine

The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) is the national professional society for physicians committed to disease prevention and health promotion. ACPM was established in 1954. Its 2,300 members are engaged in preventive medicine practice, teaching and research. Specialists in preventive medicine are uniquely trained in both clinical medicine and public health. They have the skills needed to understand and reduce the risks of disease, disability and death in individuals and in population groups. To learn more about the College, visit http://www.acpm.org/.

American College Of Preventive Medicine