Employee Benefits Join the Genomic Revolution Toward Precision Medicine

Genomic testing, which can empower your employees by giving them a deeper understanding of their health risks and genetic predispositions, is becoming increasingly available and affordable. This type of personalized testing also has the potential to revolutionize the future of healthcare.

In a piece for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans' WORD on Benefits® blog, OneDigital Senior Benefits Consultant Tom Troike out of OneDigital's Mid-Atlantic Region and Silva van Dusen, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of LinQuest, provide their research and expertise on the growing topic, and why employers need to be considering its potential in transforming the employee benefits landscape.

Like any new benefit, the implementation of genetic testing will require significant education for the workforce and a willingness to make a long-term investment to measure outcomes. HR departments should become well-versed in the science to give their employees the confidence of how this benefit can help them and their families and how they can take a more proactive approach with health care providers.
 
— Tom Troike, Senior Benefits Consultant

Today’s genomic testing offers the potential to increase patient empowerment gained by offering greater understanding of their health risks and potential genetic predispositions. This knowledge can motivate employees and their families to take a more active role in their healthcare decisions and engage in more informed discussions with their doctors. It can also improve drug treatment decisions and prevent costly adverse drug reactions.

Employers and plan sponsors will need to address employee concerns about privacy, so HR will need to understand the tests to provide education and assurance about the privacy of genomic data.

You can read the full article here.

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