VariantWire Adds New Members to its Data-sharing Network

TUSCON, Ariz., Oct. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunquest Information Systems Inc. today announced that Nationwide Children's Hospital Institute for Genomic Medicine Clinical Laboratory, MedComp Sciences and the University of Minnesota Health Fairview are now members of the VariantWire® data sharing initiative. GeneInsight®, a Sunquest company, supports the VariantWire networking infrastructure and crowdsourcing platform, which provides real-time sharing of structured genetic data between laboratories.

VariantWire offers clinical laboratories across the U.S. and Canada the opportunity to access information that can ultimately help to advance the field of personalized medicine. It is a "share and share alike" initiative that allows users of the GeneInsight IT platform to share variant information.

"We recognize how important collaboration and sharing are to provide exceptional care to our patients, and exceptional training opportunities to our students and trainees at the University of Minnesota," said Matt Bower, MS, certified genetic counselor at the Minneapolis-based University of Minnesota Health Fairview. "With this in mind, we are excited and honored to be part of the VariantWire collaborative effort."

VariantWire differs from other variant data-sharing repositories that require manual input of data. Specifically, VariantWire leverages the GeneInsight platform, which works in the background to seamlessly share the data so that laboratory workflow disruptions are minimized. VariantWire is currently facilitating the sharing of over 44,300 variant interpretations across 1,865 genes that are associated with more than 300 diseases.

"VariantWire and its data sharing objectives align well with the goals and initiatives of our laboratory," said Jason Walker, lead scientist for the Baton Rouge, LA-based MedCompGx, LLC. "We are looking forward to participating in VariantWire and helping to advance the sharing of critical variant data."

"We are excited to have Nationwide Children's Hospital, MedComp Sciences and the University of Minnesota Health Fairview join VariantWire," said Samantha Baxter, the director of VariantWire and a clinical project manager and genetic counselor at the Broad Institute. "These institutions are joining a network of individuals and labs that are committed to data transparency and understand that the sharing of genetic knowledge leads to better patient care."

For more information on VariantWire, please visit variantwire.org. 

About GeneInsight
GeneInsight, a Sunquest company, provides a molecular informatics solution that streamlines the analysis, interpretation and reporting of complex genetic tests.  In constant clinical use since 2005, GeneInsight facilitates delivery of test results to treating clinicians so they can integrate genetics into their routine diagnostic workflows.  The hosted solution includes filtration, annotation and storage tools, along with novel variant assessment, variant knowledge management and reporting capabilities.  GeneInsight is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sunquest Information Systems, a pioneer in laboratory informatics.

About Sunquest Information Systems
Sunquest Information Systems Inc. provides diagnostics informatics solutions to more than 1,700 laboratories. Since 1979, Sunquest has helped laboratories and healthcare organizations across the world optimize financial results, enhance efficiency and improve the quality of patient care. The company's singular focus on diagnostic innovation has delivered solutions that offer unique support for complex testing, enable community-wide connectivity and can be used at the point-of-care. Headquartered in Tucson, AZ with offices in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and India, Sunquest is a global leader in healthcare information technology. For more information, visit www.sunquestinfo.com.

Contact: Stephanie Clohessy, 1-520-570-2599, [email protected]

SOURCE Sunquest Information Systems, Inc.

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