Far and wide: Exploring provider utilization of remote service provision for genome-wide sequencing in Canada

Telegenetics to provide comprehensive prenatal diagnosis

Telehealth is an effective way to increase access to genetic services and can address several challenges, including geographic barriers, a shortage of interpreter services, and workforce issues, especially for prenatal diagnosis. The addition of prenatal telegenetics to current workflows shows promise in enhancing the delivery of genetic counseling and testing in prenatal care, providing accessibility, accuracy, patient satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness. Further research is needed to explore long-term patient outcomes and the evolving role of telehealth for prenatal diagnosis. Future studies should address the accuracy of diagnoses, the impact of receiving a diagnosis in a virtual setting, and patient outcomes in order to make informed decisions about the appropriate use of telemedicine in prenatal genetics service delivery.

Workforce Implications of Increased Referrals to Hereditary Cancer Services in Canada: A Scenario-Based Analysis

Over the last decade, utilization of clinical genetics services has grown rapidly, putting increasing pressure on the workforce available to deliver genetic healthcare. To highlight the policy challenges facing Canadian health systems, a needs-based workforce requirements model was developed to determine the number of Canadian patients in 2030 for whom an assessment of hereditary cancer risk would be indicated according to current standards and the numbers of genetic counsellors, clinical geneticists and other physicians with expertise in genetics needed to provide care under a diverse set of scenarios. Our model projects that by 2030, a total of 90 specialist physicians and 326 genetic counsellors (1.7-fold and 1.6-fold increases from 2020, respectively) will be required to provide Canadians with indicated hereditary cancer services if current growth trends and care models remain unchanged. However, if the expansion in eligibility for hereditary cancer assessment accelerates, the need for healthcare providers with expertise in genetics would increase dramatically unless alternative care models are widely adopted. Increasing capacity through service delivery innovation, as well as mainstreaming of cancer genetics care, will be critical to Canadian health systems' ability to meet this challenge.