CHP Seminar - Dr James Buchanan
Evaluating the outcomes associated with genomic sequencing: current evidence and next steps
Presenter: Dr James Buchanan
Thursday 22nd August 12.30pm–1.30pm, Seminar Room 515, Level 5, 207 Bouverie Street, Carlton
Over the past decade, genomic sequencing research studies have increased in size and we are currently said to be living in the million-genome era. Some of these large-scale projects are now approaching completion, and national health services will soon have to decide whether sequencing technologies should be translated into clinical practice for specific disorders. However, the health economic evidence base to support the widespread use of these technologies is limited, and evidence on the outcomes associated with sequencing is in particularly short supply. This prevents decision-makers from making fully informed healthcare resource allocation decisions with respect to genomic technologies, potentially leading to the misallocation of scarce healthcare resources, reducing population health. In this talk I will summarise the current evidence on the outcomes associated with sequencing, outline the challenges that health economists face when generating such evidence, and propose a roadmap for future research to improve decision-making in this context.
James Buchanan is a Senior Researcher at the Health Economics Research Centre at the University of Oxford, and is the deputy lead for the Genomics England Clinical Interpretation Partnership for Health Economics, part of the 100,000 Genomes Project in England. His research interests are primarily in the area of health economics and genomics. Specifically, James evaluates the costs and benefits of genomic technologies in several clinical areas, including rare diseases and cancer. His doctoral work investigated issues related to the economic analysis of genomic diagnostic technologies. James also runs the Health Economics and Genomics blog and tweets @jbuchanan_ox.