Impacts of genesurance considerations on genetic counselors' practice and attitudes

Abstract

Genesurance counseling has been identified as an integral part of many genetic counseling sessions, but little is known about the workflow impacts and genetic counselor perceptions of genesurance-related tasks. In this study, we aimed to characterize how insurance and billing considerations for genetic testing are being incorporated into genetic counselors' practice in the United States, as well as describe current at

Genesurance counseling: Current training practices of genetic counseling graduate programs in the United States

“…Genesurance training practices were assessed by asking respondents to identify which training practices are employed from a list of six items (individual lecture, lecture series, clinical experience, webinars, online modules, and other). If clinical experience was checked, respondents were asked to select from a pre-determined list of nine genesurance-related tasks originally reported in Thoreson et al, (2020). Additional information was collected on who provides lectures/education on genesurance topics.…”

“…Genesurance counseling, defined as the portion of a genetic counseling session that is devoted to the topic of costs and insurance coverage of genetic testing, has become an intrinsic component of genetic counseling (Brown et al, 2018;Thoreson et al, 2020;Wagner et al, 2018). A majority of genetic counselors report incorporating genesurance counseling into their practice, with the frequency increasing over the past 5 years (Brown et al, 2018;Thoreson et al, 2020). Furthermore, studies have shown that genetic counselors, as well as patients, believe genesurance factors can influence genetic testing decisions (Brown et al, 2018;Wagner et al, 2018).…”

“…Several studies in recent years have characterized the impact of genesurance counseling on workflow practice patterns (Attard et al, 2019;Brown et al, 2018;Hooker et al, 2017;Thoreson et al, 2020;Uhlmann et al, 2017). Answering questions about insurance coverage, discussing laboratory payment options, and providing an approximate out of pocket cost estimate are completed during a genetic counseling session (Brown et al, 2018;Thoreson et al, 2020).…”

“…Several studies in recent years have characterized the impact of genesurance counseling on workflow practice patterns (Attard et al, 2019;Brown et al, 2018;Hooker et al, 2017;Thoreson et al, 2020;Uhlmann et al, 2017). Answering questions about insurance coverage, discussing laboratory payment options, and providing an approximate out of pocket cost estimate are completed during a genetic counseling session (Brown et al, 2018;Thoreson et al, 2020). Some genesurance-related tasks are completed outside a genetic counseling session, including insurance preauthorization paperwork, writing letters of medical necessity, and participating in peer to peer review appeals (Thoreson et al, 2020).…”

“…Despite the reported influence and frequency of genesurance counseling, 64% of genetic counselors reported inadequate genesurance training in a study characterizing comfort level and genesurance training (Thoreson et al, 2020). In addition, 25% of counselors reported a lack of confidence in their ability to address genesurance topics in their current role (Thoreson et al, 2020).…”