HL7 Launches GenomeX Community to Enhance Genomic Data Interoperability

Health Level Seven International (HL7) and the HL7 FHIR Accelerator CodeX have announced GenomeX, a new foundational domain dedicated to advancing genomic data interoperability.

Leveraging a patient’s genomic information can help physicians proactively and more precisely treat health conditions.

“We are excited that CodeX is broadening its efforts beyond oncology to include genomics, a fast-growing area of healthcare that will increasingly improve patient care,” said Steve Bratt, CodeX program manager.

Building on the progress of the HL7 Clinical Genomics Work Group, including its FHIR Genomics Implementation Guide, CodeX’s GenomeX community will design scalable pilots that use FHIR Genomics for multiple use cases.

Proposed use cases are:

 • FHIR Genomics Data Exchange: Designing and building scalable FHIR Genomics interfaces to support interoperability of genomic data from laboratories to EHRs and/or genomic repositories

• FHIR Genomics Operations: Supporting access to complex genomic data through APIs so that developers can more easily populate data for genomic applications

“Scaling the data standards necessary to make genomics an integral part of everyday healthcare is a perfect opportunity to use the FHIR Accelerator model, which has been successfully executed by CodeX and other accelerators,” Arthur Hermann, principal policy consultant at Kaiser Permanente and GenomeX facilitator, said in a press release.

“I encourage all stakeholders in the genomics ecosystem to join us in this endeavor,” Hermann said.

Peter DeVault, vice president of genomics and interoperability at Epic and a member of the GenomeX community, noted that for clinical genomics to mature, stakeholders must be able to access genetic variation as computable data wherever it is needed.

“Sharing this data among the many domains where it’s required demands a modern, RESTful architecture,” he said. “The FHIR-based solutions being developed under GenomeX are going to address these needs head-on, and we are eager to participate.”