Amanda Speller: Hello, My name is Amanda Speller and I’m an Associate Director of Real-World Evidence at ADVI Health. In this video, I will share highlights from a recent study whose objective was to determine whether patients have access to precision medicine and oncology.

We know that immunotherapies can significantly increase survival among patients with newly diagnosed colon cancer. So much so that guidelines recommend that all patients receive genetic testing to determine whether they may be among the subset of patients who can benefit from precision medicine.

As precision medicine increases, it is important to determine whether patients have access to new therapies. To do this, we used the 100% Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) research identifiable files to identify patients with newly diagnosed colon cancer, and determine whether they received genetic testing, whether they received immunotherapy, and whether the testing and therapy varied by race, income, and geography. We found that patients who received low income subsidies who were non-white and living in states such as Nebraska or New Mexico, were less likely to receive genetic testing. That matters because patients who are less likely to see genetic testing are less likely to receive the benefits of immunotherapy. It also suggests that nonclinical factors at the patient level. state level, or policy level, are impacting clinical decision making.

At ADVI Health, we have a wealth of experience in analyzing large complex datasets to uncover these types of patterns. In the future, we plan to link laboratory data to claims data in order to validate our approach, to determine whether laboratory results impact medical decision making, and to evaluate survival outcomes.

Thank you so much for watching, and reach out if you would like to learn more.