Collective Voice Insights
Why Genomics Is the Next Frontier in Health Care Interoperability
Michael McNutt, WEDI VP, Education & Events
July 13, 2026
For years, health care interoperability has focused on improving the exchange of administrative, clinical, and financial information to create a more connected health care system. As precision medicine continues to advance, however, another type of data is becoming increasingly important: genomic information. Ensuring that genetic data is accurate, accessible, and interoperable will be essential to realizing the full promise of personalized medicine.
On a recent episode of WEDI's Collective Voice of Health IT podcast (episode 254), guest host Dr. Sandy Rolfe, Clinical Lead for InterQual Molecular Diagnostics at Optum and Chair of WEDI's Genomics Workgroup, welcomed Carrie Haverty, President of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and Vice President of Medical Affairs and Clinical Strategy at Mirvie, to discuss the growing role of genomics in health care data exchange.
Genetic counselors serve as a critical bridge between complex genomic science and clinical decision-making. Working across specialties including oncology, cardiology, neurology, prenatal care, and rare diseases, they help patients and providers interpret genetic test results, assess inherited risks, and make informed treatment decisions. Yet despite the growing importance of genomics, much of today's genetic information remains fragmented, stored as unstructured PDF reports that are difficult to integrate into electronic health records or share seamlessly across the health care ecosystem.
This lack of interoperability presents challenges far beyond administrative efficiency. When genomic data cannot be easily accessed or reused, providers may repeat testing, miss clinically significant findings, or struggle to coordinate care across multiple specialties. As genomic testing becomes increasingly common, the ability to exchange structured, computable genomic data will become just as important as exchanging laboratory results, medications, or clinical documentation.
The discussion also highlighted the concept of clinical utility—the ability to use genomic information to guide patient care in meaningful ways. Genetic counselors help determine not only whether testing is appropriate, but how those results can influence treatment decisions, identify medication risks, and support more personalized care plans. As health care continues its transition toward precision medicine, the value of integrating genomic data into routine clinical workflows will only continue to grow.
At the same time, barriers remain. One significant challenge discussed during the podcast is that genetic counselors are not currently recognized by CMS as independent health care providers, limiting their ability to provide services directly to Medicare beneficiaries. The proposed Access to Genetic Counselor Services Act seeks to address this gap by expanding patient access to these highly specialized professionals while supporting more coordinated, personalized care.
Underlying each of these challenges is a common theme familiar to the WEDI community: data exchange. Precision medicine depends on timely, standardized, and interoperable information moving seamlessly between laboratories, providers, health systems, and patients. Modern interoperability standards, including HL7 FHIR, offer an opportunity to transform genomic information from static documents into structured, computable data that can support clinical decision support, care coordination, analytics, and future innovation.
As genomics becomes an increasingly integral component of health care delivery, interoperability must evolve alongside it. Building a health care ecosystem capable of supporting precision medicine will require continued collaboration among standards organizations, providers, technology developers, policymakers, and genetic counselors themselves. The future of personalized medicine depends not only on scientific discovery, but on ensuring that genomic information can move securely, accurately, and meaningfully throughout the health care system.
For WEDI, genomics represents more than an emerging specialty—it represents the next chapter in health care interoperability.