Mar 13
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YouScript Receives Patent for Pharmacogenomic Risk Score that Stack-ranks or Color-codes Patients At-risk

By News

YouScript today announces the acceptance of US Patent 10,210,312 titled, “Systems and methods for quantification and presentation of medical risk arising from unknown factors.” YouScript’s patent, filed in 2014, covers methods of quantifying known and unknown risks of an adverse drug event in an individual.

Notably, the key claim in the patent includes the determining factors for the genetic risk score and display include known drug-drug interactions and unknown phenotypes of cytochromes. The resulting numerical and visual display may be based on severity of the adverse drug event/and or probability of occurrence in some embodiments.

The impact of drug-gene interactions is profound. More than 90% of the population has genetic variations that decrease or increase the availability or characteristics of cytochrome enzymes used in drug metabolism.

Cytochrome P450 enzymes metabolize the majority of routinely prescribed medications. For a patient having a genetic variation affecting the availability of one of these enzymes and is prescribed a drug that relies upon one of those enzymes, an adverse drug event resulting from overdose toxicity or treatment failure may occur.

“The USPTO’s issuance of this patent further demonstrates our leadership position in personalized medication management and our dedication to our mission to prevent adverse drug events,” stated YouScript CEO Kristine Ashcraft. “With this patent, we are continuing our work on the only peer-reviewed system available on the market today to ensure providers can see the full risk potential of their populations and assist them in making faster, more proactive medication decisions.”

Already integrated in the clinical workflow in Epic, Cerner, and Allscripts with over 100 years of combined experience, YouScript is live at Clover Health and won both the Vital Innovation grant with Highmark Health, and the 2018 Startup Showcase Winner at the Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit. YouScript looks forward to partnering with others in the healthcare community interested in bending the healthcare cost curve with the power of precision medicine by leveraging all or some of the YouScript technology.

Oct 25
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Cleveland Clinic Innovations

YouScript Announced as a Winner in Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Startup Showcase

By Events, Health Care IT, News, Press Releases

YouScript has been named as the clinical track winner in the Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Startup Showcase, honoring companies best positioned to disrupt healthcare and make change. Cleveland Clinic, JumpStart, HIMSS, HealthXL and Plug and Play voted on 5-minute live pitches to kick off the 2018 Medical Innovation Summit in Cleveland, OH on October 22, 2018.

YouScript Precision Prescribing Software identifies at-risk individuals within patient populations, helps medical professionals interpret pharmacogenetic testing results, and provides expert support for medication management. YouScript is the first and only analytics software tool available to prescribers that predicts potential drug-drug and drug-gene, and cumulative drug interactions based on both cytochrome P450 metabolism and genetic testing. The software is available in all major electronic health records covering over 60% of the US population with the capacity to impact internationally.

The 16th annual Medical Innovation Summit brings together industry leaders and stakeholders across diagnostics, pharma, clinical leaders, health IT, public and private payors, investors, and more all in the name of medical innovation. In this time of healthcare change and reform, Cleveland Clinic believes it is essential that innovation remain at the core in the delivery of medical care. Winners of the Startup Showcase receive:

  • Expert guidance from an esteemed team of clinical experts at Cleveland Clinic
  • Complimentary tickets to an exclusive HealthXL Global Gathering of 100 leaders in healthcare
  • Booth in the Innovation Zone at MIS2019
  • Exhibitor passes to Innovation Live at HIMSS19 in Orlando
  • 1 Year of exposure and access at HIMSS Innovation Center

“It is an honor for YouScript to receive recognition from such respected leaders in patient care and healthcare IT,” said YouScript CEO Kristine Ashcraft. “Having access to the resources and connections made available by The Cleveland Clinic, HIMSS, and HealthXL will enable us to move more quickly in our mission to end avoidable adverse drug events that currently claim a life every 2 minutes in the U.S.”

The Startup Showcase was designed and developed in partnership Cleveland Clinic, HIMSS, HealthXL, Jumpstart, Plug and Play. The judging panel was comprised of experienced professionals working in the health IT and venture fund fields.

For more information on the Startup Showcase, please visit https://innovations.clevelandclinic.org/Summit/Startup-Showcase.aspx.

Oct 04
Love0

YouScript Will Join Health Care Leaders from Across the Globe at Cerner Health Conference 2018

By Events, Health Care IT, News, Press Releases

Health Care Conference Will Host Nearly 14,000 in Kansas City, Oct. 8-11

SEATTLE, WA – October 4, 2018– YouScript will attend and exhibit at the Cerner Health Conference (CHC) 2018, an annual conference on the latest innovations in health care and IT. Cerner, a global leader in health care technology, will host this year’s event Oct. 8-11 throughout downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

“We are excited for YouScript to join other leaders in healthcare IT to improve patient safety and outcomes and help drive down the cost of care by bringing precision medicine to the point of care.” said YouScript CEO Kristine Ashcraft. “Cerner is a fantastic collaborator and we look forward to strengthening our relationship through the opportunities they have provided at the conference.”

YouScript will join nearly 14,000 health care industry leaders, practitioners and Cerner associates from around the world who gather at CHC each year to stay ahead of the curve and up to date on new and existing technology. Located at booth #740 and throughout the Solutions Gallery, YouScript will showcase its Smart on FHIR integration into Cerner’s Powerchart. This year’s theme, “Smarter Care,” highlights contextual, intelligent experiences and continuous advancement as a smarter organizational strategy with a focus on proactive engagement and wellness.

With more than 200 educational sessions and 700 expert and industry-leading speakers, CHC provides organizations insight on ways to engage consumers in their care and gain improved health outcomes. YouScript will be providing demos and walking visitors through the workflow of optimizing medications right within the clinical workflow on the 90,000-square-foot Solutions Gallery floor. Featuring exhibits from more than 140 supplier organizations, the Solutions Gallery provides experiential learning with cutting-edge technology and connections with Cerner associates.

The YouScript software and analytics is the only solution to answer two of the key questions in precision medicine – who do I test and how do I act on it – right in the clinical workflow. Using patient-specific genomics, medication information, related warnings, recommended alternatives are proactively presented and ‘pre- auditioned’ prior to prescribing, in an easy-to-understand and clinically actionable format that reduces alert fatigue.

Recent studies1 show that using YouScript Precision Prescribing Software reduces re-hospitalizations and emergency department visits by 52% and 42% respectively, by employing over 17,000-curated references and product inserts to simulate a team of clinical pharmacists delivering real-time, evidence-based guidance. YouScript represents a new standard for personalized medication management and care insight.

By providing clear, actionable guidance and pharmacist recommendations, YouScript helps clinicians address the complexities of drug interactions and reduce trial-and-error prescribing. Smart on FHIR-enabled YouScript in Cerner’s PowerChart supports prescribing decisions, improved patient outcomes, increased drug adherence, as well as helps save time and lower health care costs.

To follow CHC, visit The Cerner Blog for posts on speakers and sessions or follow along on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter for a behind-the-scenes look at the conference. For more, connect with presenters and attendees on Twitter using the hashtag #CHC18.

1. Elliott LS, Henderson JC, Neradilek MB, Moyer NA, Ashcraft KC, Thirumaran RK. (2017) Clinical impact of pharmacogenetic profiling with a clinical decision support tool in polypharmacy home health patients: A prospective pilot randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE 12(2): e0170905. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170905

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About YouScript
Based on fifteen years of technology development that makes precision prescribing possible, Seattle-based YouScript was founded in 2016 after spinning out of Genelex. The YouScript clinical decision support tool is the only medication management system available that assesses the cumulative effect of a patient drug regimen and unique pharmacogenomic results. Based on over 14,000 curated references and product inserts, YouScript uses comprehensive predictive analytics to interpret and provide an at-a-glance summary of the complex web of genetics, medications, over-the-counters, herbals, and other factors impacting drug safety and response; identifying at risk patients for testing and offering ranked alternatives with reduced interaction risk whenever an adverse interaction risk is found.

For more information, visit: www.youscript.com

About Cerner
Cerner’s health technologies connect people and information systems at more than 27,500 contracted provider facilities worldwide dedicated to creating smarter and better care for individuals and communities. Recognized globally for innovation, Cerner assists clinicians in making care decisions and assists organizations in managing the health of their populations. The company also offers an integrated clinical and financial system to help manage day-to-day revenue functions, as well as a wide range of services to support clinical, financial and operational needs, focused on people. For more information, visit Cerner.com, The Cerner Blog or connect on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or The Cerner Podcast. Nasdaq: CERN. Smarter Care. Better Outcomes. Healthier You.

Media Contacts:

YouScript
Jennifer Hayes, Marketing Manager, (206) 576-9557, [email protected]

Cerner
Austin Cozzolino, Public Relations, (816) 786-2154, [email protected]

Jun 07
Love0

Highmark Health’s VITAL Innovation Program evaluating YouScript Precision Prescribing Software for patients taking multiple medications

By News, Press Releases

Premier Medical Associates spearheading the evaluation among a population of 3000 patients


Pittsburgh, PA and Seattle WA (June 6, 2018) – Highmark Health announced today that through its VITAL Innovation Program, a test-and-learn platform, it is evaluating YouScript’s Precision Prescribing Software designed for safer, more targeted prescribing among patients taking multiple medications.

The unique VITAL program, which leverages Highmark Health’s position as the nation’s second largest integrated delivery and financing system, facilitates real-world testing of early-stage medical innovations, producing evidence related to patient experience, and clinical and financial outcomes. The evidence may accelerate an innovation’s coverage and utilization by Highmark Health and its affiliated clinicians and health plans, fast-tracking the solution to patients, and supporting swifter marketplace adoption and broader access.

Premier Medical Associates of Pittsburgh, an Allegheny Health Network affiliate, is spearheading the evaluation among a population of 3000 patients who take multiple prescriptions by integrating YouScript’s software tool within its electronic health record. Based on results reported through YouScript, Premier’s provider team is able to advise patients if they have a high risk of gene-based adverse drug events and if so, recommend pharmacogentic testing that enables their providers to optimize the patient’s drugs and doses based on the patient’s unique DNA and the medications, herbals, and over-the-counter medications they use. The genetic testing for the evaluation of this precision medicine platform is being provided through YouScript partnered laboratory, Genelex, who has both CLIA and CAP-accreditation.

Each year, adverse drug events claim over 100,000 lives and cause over 700,000 emergency department visits nationwide.1 Most events are caused by medications prescribed according to standard dosing guidelines.2 Some events occur because typical drug interaction software is only able to detect binary drug-drug interactions, overlooking gene-based interactions and those caused by combinations of three or more drugs or genes, which represent over 50% of significant interactions.

Recent studies3 show that using YouScript Precision Prescribing Software reduces re-hospitalizations and emergency department visits by 52% and 42% respectively, by employing over 17,000 curated references and product inserts to simulate a team of clinical pharmacists delivering real-time, evidence-based guidance.

“Patient safety and drug efficacy are paramount for providing high-quality health care,” said Sarah Ahmad, senior vice president of innovation and transformation for Highmark Health. “Through the VITAL program, we are further evaluating YouScript’ s promising technology for pinpointing patients who may suffer adverse drug interactions that can be avoided by managing their prescriptions and dosages with greater precision.”

“The value and utility of a solution such as YouScript’s could be profound in our patient population,” said Frank Colangelo, MD, chief quality officer for Premiere Medical Associates. “While our current patient safety initiatives have shown great success, we are impressed by the scope of YouScript, its tools and the potential benefit to our patients and their outcomes.”

“By integrating directly into the prescribing workflow, we can ensure every patient is receiving the safest and most appropriate medication,” said YouScript CEO Kristine Ashcraft. “We are honored to work with the Highmark Health VITAL program and with Premier Medical Associates to demonstrate how YouScript can save lives, improve care and reduce cost by eliminating avoidable adverse drug events.”

VITAL’s evaluation of YouScript is underway and will occur for a period of 12 months and will conclude in December 2018.

1CDC. Adults and older adult adverse drug events. October 2012. http://www.cdc.gov/MedicationSafety/Adult_AdverseDrugEvents.html. (Accessed May 30, 2018).

2Budnitz DS, Pollock DA, Weidenbach KN, Mendelsohn AB, Schroeder TJ, Annest JL. National Surveillance of Emergency Department Visits for Outpatient Adverse Drug Events. JAMA. 2006;296(15):1858-1866. doi:10.1001/jama.296.15.1858

3Elliott LS, Henderson JC, Neradilek MB, Moyer NA, Ashcraft KC, Thirumaran RK. (2017) Clinical impact of pharmacogenetic profiling with a clinical decision support tool in polypharmacy home health patients: A prospective pilot randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE 12(2): e0170905. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170905

About Highmark Health
Highmark Health, a Pittsburgh, PA based enterprise that employs more than 40,000 people who serve millions of Americans across the country, is the second largest integrated health care delivery and financing network in the nation based on revenue. Highmark Health is the parent company of Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health Network, and HM Health Solutions. Highmark Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates provide health insurance to nearly 5 million members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware as well as dental insurance, vision care and related health products through a national network of diversified businesses that include United Concordia Companies, HM Insurance Group, and Visionworks. Allegheny Health Network is the parent company of an integrated delivery network that includes eight hospitals, more than 2,800 affiliated physicians, ambulatory surgery centers, an employed physician organization, home and community-based health services, a research institute, a group purchasing organization, and health and wellness pavilions in western Pennsylvania. HM Health Solutions focuses on meeting the information technology platform and other business needs of the Highmark Health enterprise as well as unaffiliated health insurance plans by providing proven business processes, expert knowledge and integrated cloud-based platforms. To learn more, please visit www.highmarkhealth.org. For information specific to VITAL, please visit www.vitalinnovation.com.

About Premier Medical Associates
With a team of approximately 100 dedicated providers, Premier Medical Associates is the largest multi-specialty physician practice in the Greater Pittsburgh area. The company is focused on being a leader in the delivery of efficient, high-quality care which drives down healthcare costs and improves patient outcomes. Founded in 1993, Premier’s leadership team led a transition that made the company independent in 2004. Premier’s independence allowed the company to focus on building a stronger model of patient-centered care and expand operations to include critical services and specialties that provide a continuum of care to PMA’s patients. In December 2011, Premier Medical Associates affiliated with Highmark and today are an affiliate of the Allegheny Health Network. Today, Premier touches the lives of more than 100,000 patients in 10 convenient locations in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. To learn more, visit www.premiermedicalassociates.com.

About YouScript
At YouScript, our mission is to save lives, improve patient care and reduce costs by eliminating avoidable adverse drug events. Based on fifteen years of technology development that makes precision prescribing possible, Seattle-based YouScript was founded in 2016 after spinning out of Genelex Labs. The YouScript clinical decision support tool is the only medication management system available that assesses the cumulative effect of a patient drug regimen and unique pharmacogenomic results. Based on over 17,000 curated references and product inserts, YouScript uses comprehensive predictive analytics to interpret and provide an at-a-glance summary of the complex web of genetics, medications, over-the-counters, herbals, and other factors impacting drug safety and response; identifying at risk patients for testing and offering ranked alternatives with reduced interaction risk whenever an adverse interaction risk is found. For more information, visit: www.youscript.com.

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May 09
Love0

Clover Health Launches New In-Home Primary Care Program Supported by Genomic Testing Capabilities

By News, Press Releases

Clover partners with YouScript to deliver free gene-informed medication management for in-home primary care members to reduce adverse drug interactions

SAN FRANCISCO, May 9, 2018 – Clover Health, a healthcare company using data and technology to fill gaps in care and improve health outcomes, has launched an in-home primary care program equipped with genomic testing integration capabilities provided by YouScript, a proprietary clinical decision support tool designed to assist in medication therapy management. Developed to provide the high touch longitudinal care needed by its most vulnerable members, Clover’s in-home primary care program provides member-centric care plans to improve quality of life and reduce adverse health events including emergency department visits and hospitalizations. The program is being spearheaded by Sophia Chang, MD, Clover’s Chief Clinical Informatics Officer and a practicing primary care physician, along with Kumar Dharmarajan, MD, a practicing geriatrician and Chief Scientific Officer at Clover.

Five percent of Medicare beneficiaries drive more than 40 percent of hospital admissions and readmissions, and account for 42 percent of the program’s costs. This population benefits significantly from optimized medication therapy through precision prescribing and vigilant monitoring for side effects by their health care team.

“Our main focus as a company is to improve the quality of life for each and every Clover member and physician,” said Vivek Garipalli, Clover co-founder and CEO. “We are constantly identifying new ways to improve member outcomes using new data streams and advanced models of care. Our in-home care program combines our expertise as a data and technology company with our ongoing joint desire to bring access and care directly to those most in need.”

Enrollment in the home-based primary care program is entirely voluntary and offered to eligible members at no cost. Clover’s physician-led care team consisting of PCPs, nurses, social workers, medical assistants and care coordinators care for members in their home to identify and address all outstanding and incipient patient concerns, including those related to medication management. For the Medicare population, a large number of hospital admissions are due to adverse drug events; to reduce these risks, Clover will perform pharmacogenomic testing to personalize each member’s drug regimen. Care teams prepare for and engage with members with the help of Clover’s technology platform, which promotes more informed and holistic care.

“Through this program, we are taking full accountability for our patients’ care and health outcomes,” said Dharmarajan. “Our number one priority is to provide exceptional in-home primary care, and we’ve built a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals who are responsive 24/7 to achieve this goal. To do this, we are using data, technology, and care innovations to further improve our members’ lives.”

“YouScript’s technology simulates a team of clinical pharmacists delivering evidence-based guidance in real time, and this in-home program validates our impact at scale,” said YouScript CEO Kristine Ashcraft. “We are excited to work with Clover Health, to provide the tools necessary to identify and positively impact the most at-risk patients, while bending the healthcare cost curve.”

Clover’s in-home primary care program allows patients to benefit from regularly scheduled personal check-ins, active monitoring, and home-based lab and radiology testing, all of which are especially beneficial to homebound members who have great difficulty leaving their homes. With a deep understanding of each member’s social context and comprehensive medical needs, physicians can better provide direct interventions to members. Care teams are assigned a small panel of members and are exclusive to Clover, which allows them to see each member in the program multiple times a month, if needed. Clover collaborates with its in-network physicians to determine which members are best suited for the program and supports these providers as they transition their patients to Clover’s in-home primary care team.

To date, Clover has enrolled approximately 500 members in its in-home care program in New Jersey and will be scaling this model to meet the needs of its members wherever Clover is available.

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About Clover Health
Clover Health is a healthcare technology company building a platform to collect, structure and analyze longitudinal health and behavioral data. The company uses its platform to create products that improve health outcomes and lower health-related costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Earning trust and becoming a valued partner in our members’ health is Clover’s key to success. This trust is built by proactively identifying at-risk members and partnering with providers to accelerate care coordination and simultaneously improve health outcomes and reduce avoidable costs.

Clover is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.cloverhealth.com.

About YouScript
At YouScript, our mission is to save lives, improve patient care and reduce costs by eliminating avoidable adverse drug events. Based on fifteen years of technology development that makes precision prescribing possible, Seattle-based YouScript was founded in 2016 after spinning out of Genelex Labs. The YouScript clinical decision support tool is the only medication management system available that assesses the cumulative effect of a patient drug regimen and unique pharmacogenomic results. Based on over 17,000 curated references and product inserts, YouScript uses comprehensive predictive analytics to interpret and provide an at-a- glance summary of the complex web of genetics, medications, over-the- counters, herbals, and other factors impacting drug safety and response; identifying at risk patients for testing and offering ranked alternatives with reduced interaction risk whenever an adverse interaction risk is found.

For more information, visit: www.youscript.com

Mar 07
Love0

YouScript Announces New Board of Directors

By News

YouScript adds thought leaders in healthcare innovation, precision medicine, informatics, and patient safety

(Seattle, WA) March 7, 2018 – YouScript today announced the addition of Russel Altman, MD, PhD, Christine Cassell, MD, David Colaizzi, and Board Chair Alan Russell, PhD to the YouScript board of directors. Additionally, Cesar Elizaga, Miguel Solans, Kristine Ashcraft will continue to serve on the Board. The new members were confirmed through voting at the YouScript Annual Shareholders meeting on February 22, 2018.

“YouScript’s innovative technology is poised to make improvements in patient care and safety,” said Dr. Alan Russel, Chairman of the Board. “By leveraging predictive algorithms, YouScript identifies at-risk patients for precision medicine intervention, and I look forward to supporting this dedicated team making an impact in healthcare.”

Alan J. Russell, PhD is the current Board Chair. Dr. Russell is the Highmark Distinguished Career Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Director of the Carnegie Mellon University Disruptive Health Technology Institute and Director of the Russell Labs. He is the former CIO of Allegheny Health Network, Founder of The McGowan Center for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Russell received of the Carnegie Award for Excellence in Science and Technology, holds numerous patents, and is widely published in the field of biological engineering and biological chemistry.

Russ B Altman, MD, PhD is a leading expert in precision medicine, bioinformatics and Director of the Biomedical Informatics Training Program at Stanford University. Additionally, Dr. Altman holds the position of Professor of Bioengineering, Genetics, Medicine, Biomedical Data Science, and Computer Science at Stanford University. Dr. Altman is a past-President, founding board member, and a Fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB), and a past-President of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (ASCPT). He has chaired the Science Board advising the FDA Commissioner, currently serves on the NIH Director’s Advisory Committee, and is Co-Chair of the IOM Drug Forum.

Christine K. Cassell, MD is an industry leader in geriatric medicine and former Planning Dean of the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine. Previously Dr. Cassell held positions as Director of the National Quality Forum, President of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Member of the President’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology. A national leader in efforts to inspire quality care, Dr. Cassel has served on the board of the Greenwald Foundation since 1992, the board of the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plans since 2002, and the board of the National Physician Alliance since 2006. She also sits on the editorial board of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

David N. Colaizzi is the CEO/CTO of Five Star Development. He provides technical consultation services for Five Star’s clients. He has consulted with numerous Fortune 1000 corporations, colleges, universities and software development firms on software analysis, design and development, business process, technology and project management. Some of his clients include: Visa Inc, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Sheetz, BNY Mellon, and Ford Motor Company. Mr. Colaizzi owns an emergent healthcare technology platform as well as Genelex Labs, one of the worlds’ leading pharmacogenetic testing labs, in Seattle, WA.

Cesar Elizaga serves a YouScripts’ principal shareholder and Executive Director of Team Campos. Mr. Elizaga is also a member of the Board of Directors for Dos Gestora. Mr. Elizaga is passionate about technology and invests in innovative projects led by talented teams. He shares his career as investor in information technology companies with his other passion, sailing. As Executive Director of Team Campos, he is involved in the development and oversight of projects ranging from youth sailing to the Volvo Ocean Race and the America’s Cup.

Miguel Solans is the CFO of Team Campos. Mr. Solans is a chartered financial accountant with more than 20 years of global corporate financial experience. He began his career as a senior auditor at Ernst & Young, and then served in relevant positions in the Finance Department of Honeywell and Adeslas, the leading Health Insurance company in Spain. Presently, he oversees all global financial activity for Team Campos and the Spanish Team entry in the Volvo Ocean Race Round the World. Mr. Solans has dual degrees in Business Administration and Law, and speaks fluent Spanish, English and French.

Kristine Ashcraft is CEO of YouScript and a trained molecular biologist. She also holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson College. Her career includes 18 years in Precision Medicine and pharmacogenomic analytics, over 20 years in sales and business development, and management experience growing a company from 12 to several hundred employees in less than three years. A recognized expert in the field, she has authored multiple publications on the clinical and economic benefits of pharmacogenomic testing.

“The breadth of knowledge and expertise our board members possess will add valuable insight and perspective to our strategic direction,” said Kristine Ashcraft, YouScript CEO. “I’m confident that our new Board will help YouScript become the new standard of care in medication management, extending the impact of precision medicine from oncology into daily clinical decision making in primary care and other specialties.”

YouScript is the leader in precision prescribing analytics and clinical decision support. Already shown in multiple published studies to reduce costs and improve care, YouScript’s tools are used by value-based healthcare organizations, providers, and payers interested in bending the healthcare cost curve with the power of precision medicine.

About YouScript
At YouScript, our mission is to save lives, improve patient care and reduce costs by eliminating avoidable adverse drug events. Based on fifteen years of technology development that makes precision prescribing possible, Seattle-based YouScript was founded in 2016 after spinning out of Genelex. The YouScript clinical decision support tool is the only medication management system available that assesses the cumulative effect of a patient drug regimen and unique pharmacogenomic results. Based on over 17,000 curated references and product inserts, YouScript uses comprehensive predictive analytics to interpret and provide an at-a-glance summary of the complex web of genetics, medications, over-the-counters, herbals, and other factors impacting drug safety and response; identifying at risk patients for testing and offering ranked alternatives with reduced interaction risk whenever an adverse interaction risk is found.

For more information, visit: www.youscript.com

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Press contact:
Jennifer Hayes
YouScript
[email protected]
206-576-9557

Oct 18
Love0

Challenges and Strategies to Implementing a Pharmacogenetics Strategy

By News

At any given moment, clinicians have access to a variety of resources designed to make their job more efficient. These resources range from static clinical references to fully actionable, dynamic, digital assistants. The modern computer era has made medical information more readily available than ever before.

Choosing and implementing the right tools can be a daunting task. In many cases, there are multiple tools to accomplish the same goals and several that overlap, which can be a nightmare for a healthcare informatics team to manage effectively. Resources can also be prohibitively expensive or exceptionally narrow-targeted, diminishing potential value-add.

In a recent publication1, Sperber et al. examined the key needs for successful implementation of genetics in the clinical workflow. The goal of the study was to examine and synthesize challenges to implementing genomics into the medical practice.

Six institutions, each part of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)-funded network called IGNITE (Implementing GeNomics In pracTicE), were examined as part of this dialogue: Duke University School of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, University of Florida College of Pharmacy, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Each IGNITE site developed a project that involved implementing genomic data into the routine care of patients and evaluated outcomes. In particular, both Indiana University and Vanderbilt University developed programs to examine the value and benefit pharmacogenetics and its application to patient safety.

The study authors determined three major challenges:

  1. Prioritizing integration of genomics into the EMR
  2. Improving clinician knowledge and beliefs about genomic medicine
  3. Engaging patients to participate in genomic medicine projects

To address these challenges, healthcare systems must be innovative and place a priority on infrastructure that will support implementation of genomic medicine.

For example, it is well known that EMR vendors communicate roughly the same information, although the organization of data is unique to each system. Healthcare organizations can choose to implement data warehousing and clinical decision support tools provided by their EMR provider, or another third party, to successfully store and interpret genomic results directly within their EMR. By doing this, healthcare systems would also contribute to overcoming the second described challenge because they would inherently be providing guidance to clinicians on how to use genomic data in their daily practice.

Finally, communication with patients is key to successfully making genomic medicine the standard of care, whether that be implementing a pharmacogenomics program for improved medication management or incorporating targeted therapy into cancer care based on tumor genomics. Patients are taking an active role in their care today and want to be involved in their own treatment plan. Genomic education will create more engaged patients in the greater healthcare system, furthering the advancement of medicine.

YouScript brings all three challenges together in one platform. Our software is integrated with all the major electronic health records, keeping precision prescribing at every moment medication decisions are made. Each clinical recommendation is backed by package insert references, PubMed clinical literature and other peer-reviewed evidence full text. YouScript also has a patient-facing app allowing patients to take a proactive approach in managing their medications and taking their results with them to providers that are in other networks.

Integrating and implementing a pharmacogenetics strategy is not an easy task, but keeping in mind the few key points highlighted in this article can make that process go smoothly for all involved.

1. https://bmcmedgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12920-017-0273-2

Sep 13
Love0

Use of Clinical Decision Support Tools

By Clinical Decision Support Tool, Health Care IT, News

What Makes the Best Decision Support Tools So Widely Utilized?

Health care providers need access to up-to-date and clinically-actionable clinical decision support tools throughout the care continuum. To satisfy this need, more healthcare systems are deploying clinical decision support tools tailored to the needs of healthcare providers, complementing their larger clinical IT infrastructure.

Some use for clinical decision support tools include:

  • Reviewing prescribing and safety information of medications
  • Checking for potential drug-drug and drug-allergy interactions
  • Reducing cost and patient accessibility barriers
  • Selecting the right drugs and doses in real-time
  • Highlighting patients with specific intervention needs
  • Understanding current clinical practice guidelines

In a 2005 study, Kawamoto et al. determined four critical success factors for successful clinical decision support tools. These tools must automatically provide decision support as part of clinician workflow, include decision support at the time and location of decision-making, provide a recommendation rather than just an assessment, and use a computer to generate the support.1 YouScript meets all four factors as both a stand-alone web portal and a fully integrated, native system across the providing spectrum.

Providers typically use a combination of clinical decision support tools at any given time, based on specialty, patient population, and other factors. But, even good stand-alone clinical decision support tools require navigation through myriad steps and screens. The best tools—the ones most likely to optimize patient care and experience—offer a completely native, integrated experience. They empower providers with confidence of information, with a minimum of clicking and navigation.

Good clinical decision support tools are actively curated and evidence-adapted. The most trusted tools set editorial benchmarks to ensure content is accurate, current, unbiased, pertinent, essential, and easily consumable during every moment of care and management.

The best clinical decision support tools that capture patient data also seamlessly connect to the EHR. This eliminates the extra step of updating patient charts from a desktop station and reduces data entry time.
 

References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC555881/

Aug 08
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YouScript and Grane Rx Partner to Reduce Hospitalizations Using Pharmacogenetics for the Post-acute Care Industry

By News, Press Releases

Grane Rx is poised to take a leading role in promoting patient safety through precision medicine.


YouScript and Grane Rx announce today an agreement to deliver precision prescribing support to post-acute care organizations.

Adverse drug events (ADEs) are a leading cause of avoidable hospitalization among the senior population. Each year, these events claim more than 100,000 lives and cause more than 700,000 emergency department visits. The vast majority of ADEs are caused by medications prescribed according to best practice guidelines.1

That’s because traditional prescribing best practices don’t take into account the different ways that individual participants react to medications. Enter Grane Rx’s Medication Insights™, powered by YouScript.

Utilizing a proprietary Risk Analysis dashboard, prescribers are alerted in real-time as to which participants are most vulnerable to significant medication-related problems. Potential issues are identified within the software, and providers are able to view and select alternative medications both within the drug class and for a specific therapeutic indication.

“The FDA has stated in drug development guidance that drug-gene interactions are as significant as drug-drug interactions,” said Kristine Ashcraft, Chief Executive Officer at YouScript. “I applaud Grane Rx for taking the lead to integrate this key information into medication management for our most vulnerable seniors.”

Recent studies2 in the home health environment showed that using YouScript can save approximately $4,382 per patient over a 60-day period, in addition to reducing hospitalizations and readmission rates by 52 percent and 42 percent respectively.

“As post-acute care shifts from a fee-for-service model to a pay-for-performance model, facilities will be penalized for excessive avoidable hospitalizations and poor outcomes,” said Bob Rowland, Chief Operating Officer at Grane Rx. “Polypharmacy is prominent in seniors, which increases their risk of adverse drug events that lead to hospitalization.

“This tool will offer newly available clinical insights to help prevent these events and avoidable hospitalizations related to ADE’s among post-acute care patients.”

YouScript will be available to all independent post-acute care organizations utilizing Grane Rx’s pharmacy services.

To learn how Medication Insights can benefit your organization, visit www.MedicationInsights.com to sign up for a free analysis.

1. Budnitz DS, Pollock DA, Weidenbach KN, Mendelsohn AB, Schroeder TJ, Annest JL. National Surveillance of Emergency Department Visits for Outpatient Adverse Drug Events. JAMA. 2006;296(15):1858-1866. doi:10.1001/jama.296.15.1858
2. Elliott LS, Henderson JC, Neradilek MB, Moyer NA, Ashcraft KC, Thirumaran RK. (2017) Clinical impact of pharmacogenetic profiling with a clinical decision support tool in polypharmacy home health patients: A prospective pilot randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE 12(2): e0170905. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170905

About Grane Rx
For nearly 20 years, Grane Rx has been a leader in pharmacy solutions and services for post-acute care, supporting PACE organizations and Skilled Nursing Facilities across the United States. Grane Rx offers pharmacy solutions in multiple states. Our PACE pharmacy solutions include innovative packaging, EasyRead Pharmacy labels, and LearnRx literacy tools available in 22 different languages, which are designed to improve medication adherence while expanding efficiencies and lowering costs—revolutionizing pharmacy services. Medication Insights represents the latest tool available to help limit adverse drug events and associated avoidable hospitalizations, thus improving the quality care we provide patients.

For more information, visit www.GraneRx.com.

About YouScript

Based on fifteen years of technology development that makes precision prescribing possible, Seattle-based YouScript was founded in 2016 after incubating the technology for over a decade at leading pharmacogenetic testing lab. The YouScript clinical decision support tool is the only medication management system available that assesses the cumulative effect of a patient drug regimen and unique pharmacogenomic results. Based on over 14,000 curated references and product inserts, YouScript uses comprehensive predictive analytics to interpret and provide an at-a-glance summary of the complex web of genetics, medications, over-the-counters, herbals, and other factors impacting drug safety and response; identifying at risk patients for testing and offering ranked alternatives with reduced interaction risk whenever an adverse interaction risk is found.

For more information, visit www.youscript.com.

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Press contact:

Jennifer Hayes
YouScript
[email protected]
206-576-9557

Scott Sosso
Grane Rx
[email protected]
412-449-0504

Aug 02
Love0

YouScript and PDX Join Together to Reduce Adverse Drug Events by Bringing Precision Medicine to Community Pharmacies

By News, Press Releases

Drug and gene interactionsYouScript and PDX announce today an agreement to deliver integrated YouScript® precision prescribing clinical decision support to all PDX pharmacy software users that opt in. Pharmacists will now be able to advise patients when they have a high risk of gene-based adverse drug events, and work with their providers to order testing and optimize drug and dose selection based on each patient’s unique DNA and all medications, herbals, and OTCs they are taking.

Each year, adverse drug events (ADEs) claim over 100,000 lives and cause over 700,000 emergency department visits; most are caused by medications prescribed according to guidelines.1 Some of this occurs because typical drug interaction software is only capable of detecting binary drug-drug interactions; but overlooks gene-based interactions and interactions caused by combinations of three or more drugs or genes that represent over 50% of significant interactions.

Utilizing a proprietary Risk Analysis dashboard, pharmacists are alerted as to which patients are most vulnerable to significant medication problems so they can make proactive decisions in coordination with physicians and the patient. The one-time test cost paid by the patient includes one year of access to YouScript alerts on any new prescriptions to be sure they are not a mismatch with the patient’s genes or other medications. After one year, either the pharmacy or patient can extend alerts depending on how the PDX pharmacy has chosen to participate.

Recent studies2 showed that using YouScript reduces re-hospitalizations and emergency room visits by 52% and 42%, respectively. With over 14,000 curated references and product inserts, YouScript acts like a team of clinical pharmacists delivering real-time, evidence based guidance.

“By providing PDX’s vast network of retail pharmacists the capability to integrate YouScript into their Care Rx® workflow, we are ensuring that the medications they dispense are the safest and most effective choices the current evidence allows for,” said YouScript CEO Kristine Ashcraft. “We are honored to work with PDX to further improve their positive impact on patient safety.”

“The entire PDX team is excited to work with YouScript and to offer customers the integration with YouScript’s suite of services. We believe genetics is a critical success factor in the future of pharmacy practice,” said PDX Vice President, Trey Ferguson. “YouScript’s expertise in this arena is evident and this integration with YouScript’s capabilities will allow our shared Pharmacy partners to provide an enhanced level of patient care and safety.”

1. Budnitz DS, Pollock DA, Weidenbach KN, Mendelsohn AB, Schroeder TJ, Annest JL. National Surveillance of Emergency Department Visits for Outpatient Adverse Drug Events. JAMA. 2006;296(15):1858-1866. doi:10.1001/jama.296.15.1858
2. Elliott LS, Henderson JC, Neradilek MB, Moyer NA, Ashcraft KC, Thirumaran RK. (2017) Clinical impact of pharmacogenetic profiling with a clinical decision support tool in polypharmacy home health patients: A prospective pilot randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE 12(2): e0170905. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170905

About PDX, Inc.

With 30-plus years of experience and with nearly 10,000 pharmacies across the U.S. using their technologies and services, PDX and its affiliates provide the pharmacy and healthcare business with proven solutions, which include: a flexible clinical services application, Care Rx®; a revenue cycle management solution, Absolute AR®; the fast, intuitive, and advanced Enterprise Pharmacy System—already the choice of over 40 chains and one major managed-care plan; the portable, interoperable Electronic Pharmacy Record; a business intelligence solution in Explore Rx™; an independent-focused Community Pharmacy Division; the robust and efficient point-of-sale systems; the pharmaceutical manufacturer performance programs; and more. Under the parent company of National Health Coalition™, subsidiaries PDX, Inc.; National Health Information Network, Inc.; Rx.com Prescription Drug Network, Inc.; and Freedom Data Systems, Inc., continue to build on their commitment to excellence in retail pharmacy and patient care. www.pdxinc.com