Case Study: Partners HealthCare achieves seamless electronic genetic-test integration into EMRs with InterSystems Ensemble

Partners HealthCare uses InterSystems Ensemble ® to create a breakthrough in personalized medicine

Partners HealthCare Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine (PCPGM) faced a common barrier in personalized medicine: complex genomic test results were hard to process, share, and present meaningfully in electronic medical records (EMRs). In 2009 PCPGM needed a way to transmit detailed genetic variant data to outside providers—culminating in the first successful electronic transfer of genetic test results from PCPGM to Intermountain Healthcare—because printed reports were cumbersome and clinically difficult to use.

PCPGM built VariantWire on InterSystems Ensemble, a reusable, plug‑and‑play integration framework that combines Ensemble business processes with XML and Java components and aligns with HL7 Clinical Genomics messaging work. The solution let Partners integrate labs and EMRs quickly (new practice connections in about 30 minutes), leverage existing developer tools, and establish a hub architecture to scale secure genetic-data sharing across institutions—making genomic results easier to deliver, interpret, and act on in clinical care.

Partners HealthCare

Steve Woodworth

Team Leader, Partners Healthcare