Penn Medicine’s PennChart Team was recently recognized by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) with this year’s Group on Information Resources (GIR) Excellence Award. The implementation team, which is made up of representatives from Information Services, clinical workgroups and Penn’s genetic research efforts, was recognized formally at the AAMC’s Virtual Membership Webinar earlier this month.

The Excellence Award is given to individuals and teams that have “contributed to a work of excellence in academic medical information technology domain” that supports the mission of their institution in innovative ways. Created last year, it’s one of just two awards that the GIR dispenses.

The Penn Medicine team’s efforts are important because they make PennChart, the health system’s electronic medical record, able to easily receive and store a patient’s genomic test results in a standardized way. That makes it easier to use both for clinicians treating single patients and for researchers doing larger projects pulling in large amounts of data.

In addition to standardizing and storing the data itself, the PennChart Genomics Project team also worked to create easy options to order genetic testing directly through the medical record. So not only does existing data become easier to access, but more of it can be acquired if a doctor feels it’s necessary.

The PennChart Genomics Project has taken on multiple efforts, including the development of specific areas in the electronic medical record for not just patents’ genetic testing, but genetic testing records from family members. It has also organized the data into a discrete form that can be released to patients as well as drive their clinicians’ decisions.

A pipeline established with a specific lab went live in January, adding 62 different types of genetic testing that can be ordered directly through PennChart, including some that require just one click. In total, Penn Medicine clinicians have ordered almost 200 tests directly through the electronic medical records, with roughly half returning results already.