Concert Genetics

The Challenge

Precision Medicine is the most exciting frontier in healthcare – but the complexity and rapid expansion of genetic testing are challenging stakeholders across the system.

Today, there are more than 65,000 unique genetic testing products on the market, and an average of 10 new products are added each day. This growth confounds the processes through which tests are ordered, resulted, billed and reimbursed.

Founded in 2010 with a vision to simplify this complexity, Concert Genetics is helping stakeholders across the healthcare system better understand and respond to the rapid transformation in precision medicine. Their leading team of clinicians, researchers, data scientists and software engineers, have built proprietary solutions that streamline the genetic test selection, ordering, payment and management for clinicians, hospitals, laboratories, and health plans.

Concert Genetics has the most comprehensive, up-to-date database of genetic tests available on the market. Believing that the data should not favor any one stakeholder but rather be a resource for everyone in the space, they positioned themselves in the gap of the communication problem. Concert Genetics knew they had a unique opportunity to solve the problems they saw in the genetic health space but they didn’t know how to talk about it or invite others into it. They needed help explaining their products and starting a larger conversation with the community about the value they could provide.

The Solution

Concert Genetics originally had a company name, NextGxDx, that was not only tough to pronounce — it wasn’t distinct enough in the genetic health space. They needed a new name that captured their larger vision of connecting the genetic health ecosystem. The name Concert Genetics resonated with the team immediately. By bringing different stakeholders (payers, physicians, labs, etc.) into concert with one another, they have the opportunity to create something bigger than the sum of its parts.

Concert Genetics serves many different stakeholders with many different problems and needs. In creating a website that could speak to them all without confusing their message or weakening their position with each, we built an architecture using verticals for their messaging and the website. On their website, for example, their homepage starts with the problem they solve and then immediately gives visitors the chance to select which stakeholder they identify with, quickly pushing them into content that best applies to them: Health Plans, Hospitals, Labs, Clinicians, Governing Organizations, and Patients.

The launch of Concert Genetics was more than a name change; it required defining a new category. It was the piece that was missing and the reason communication was such a problem. Everyone was speaking a different language, following a different process, and no one was in a position to introduce a solution that didn’t heavily favor one stakeholder. The Genetic Health Information Network naturally emerged as the category we were all were talking about but didn’t have a clear name for. In order for Concert Genetics to launch successfully as a solution provider, they needed to establish the Genetic Health Information Network as a market category and invite others to be part of the vision they have for the future of precision medicine.

This newly-defined market category provided a way for Concert Genetics to bring disparate groups from across the genetic health ecosystem and rally them around the same goal: unifying, connecting, and simplifying the genetic testing space in order to empower smarter decisions and better care. This manifested itself in the form of a vision paper that went out to key individuals working in the space of precision medicine and genetic testing. It served as an invitation to collaborate, start conversations, and imagine a better future for healthcare.

Concert Genetics then planned a GHIN Summit conference where top stakeholders could come together to present and discuss the most pressing topics in their field. The conference was a “lightning strike” event for Concert Genetics and the first event centered around the Genetic Health Information Network. The time was inspiring and even emotional for those who are so passionate about this space. It has raised awareness and given people a forum to talk about — and solve — the biggest problems facing precision medicine.