The Victorian Government has announced a Budget commitment to fund public access to genomic testing for children and adults with rare conditions and diseases.
The commitment to make genomic sequencing more available to these specific patients is based on evidence collected by Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance - which showed that for infants with genetic syndromes, genomic sequencing yielded 5 times more diagnoses at 75% less cost per diagnosis.
The Government's announcement is, as follows:
More Victorian children with rare conditions and diseases will now be able to access world-leading genomic sequencing tests – at no cost – so they can get the diagnosis and treatment they need sooner.
The Andrews Labor Government will provide $8.3 million in the Victorian Budget 2017/18 to fund public access to genomic testing for children and adults with rare conditions and diseases.
Many patients with rare and complex diseases undergo expensive medical tests for years and years, and are still unable to find the cause of their illness.
Genomic sequencing speeds up the diagnosis of rare and complex genetic conditions. A genomic sequencing test can read the DNA in all 20,000 genes from an individual in a single test.
This funding builds on the Labor Government’s $25 million investment in the Australian-first genomic sequencing capability project, which will see around 2,000 Victorians access genomic sequencing tests over four years.
The funding in the Victorian Budget 2017/18 will mean that more Victorian kids with rare conditions will be able to access this life-changing technology through the public health system, rather than through the genomic sequencing research project.
This ground-breaking project is already delivering truly remarkably results, with the initial phase finding genomic sequencing provided six times as many diagnoses overall compared to standard tests.
It also found genomic sequencing saves money, with children receiving their diagnosis at one quarter of the cost of current testing practices, saving thousands of dollars.
The additional funding will support access to clinical genetic consultations, genetic counselling, multi-disciplinary care across medical specialities and genomic sequencing currently not funded under Medicare.
The clinical care will primarily be provided by paediatric specialists at the Royal Children’s Hospital and Monash Children’s Hospital and the genomic sequencing by accredited laboratories.