Read More: A tour of a FirstStepDx PLUS results report
Lineagen's CMA reports are much more comprehensive than the average report from other laboratories and they contain two major sections: a provider results section and a family results section.
One report for the doctor, one for the parent
The report send by Lineagen's genetic counseling team so that the doctor has access to both sections and can easily share it with the family. So, everyone can get the “dual report” and can start reading the part that makes the most sense to them.
Genetic counselors consolidate the information and write the report
If you were to see one of Lineagen's reports, you would see the provider results section on the top, and that's going to contain 2-3 pages of the basic information that providers are accustomed to seeing when they get a lab result. It will have the demographic information from the patient who was tested, the ordering provider's contact information, and a Lineagen case contact (genetic counselors who can be reached if there are questions).
There's also going to be a table that shows the specific genetic change, if one was identified along with a genetic counselor interpretation that walks the reader through the details of the finding.
The entire report is referenced to the literature with links
There is a reference section in Lineagen's report because we want everyone who reads it to know where Lineagen's genetic counseling team got the information.
We give ordering providers and families the primary literature references so they can go and look up those studies themselves, if they wish to do so. We provide links to different medical references where healthcare providers and families can go and learn more about genetics in general.
Of course, we also add a methodology page that provides more details about how the test was done and includes our lab certifications.
The family section has links to support groups
The family result section contains pictures and definitions about the scientific information so the family doesn't need to have a genetics background to read through the report and understand what their child's finding means.
It will also provide detail about what it means for the child today (for his or her medical evaluations and screens) and what it could mean as this child ages, grows up, and maybe considers having a family of his or her own.
The family results section will also include links to support groups, or advocacy groups. One of the things that families may find to be very important after a genetic result is that they are part of a community
They've been on this journey where their child has some form of developmental delay and when they finally get that answer and they understand what caused their child's developmental delay, they might get a name, they now know what their child has.
Maybe it's Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome or Angelman syndrome. And while it can be difficult to receive a diagnosis, it can also be very empowering because that set of parents can now connect with other parents of kids with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome or Angelman syndrome. Many of these support groups have annual meetings and get-togethers where the parents can talk to one another.