It’s been said a lot: evidence that something works isn’t enough to ensure it’s actually used.  

So we’re quite excited to share a paper that unpacks what else is needed, from both a practical and theoretical perspective.

Published in the European Journal of Human Genetics, the paper focuses on genomic testing in nephrology. Authored by a brilliant team of implementation scientists, nephrologists and geneticists, it dives deeply into strategies that can bring a new technology into patient care.

For context: genomics is a game-changer for many people living with kidney disease. It can pinpoint the cause of the disease, inform a prognosis, and identify treatments most likely to help. But genomics is still new to many nephrologists, and it’s not easy to identify which patients are likely to benefit, how to correctly order a genomic test, and how to use the results in patient care.

An illustration of two doctors, one standing with a pen and clipboard, and the other seated on a giant pill bottle. Between them is a large screen showing two kidneys, and the word NEPHROLOGIST above the kidneys.
Genomics is highly useful in nephrology but is yet to become mainstream practice.
Illustration: iStock.

The authors interviewed multiple people involved in a clinical change program funded by Melbourne Genomics. They identified 34 distinct barriers to the wider use of genomics by Victorian nephrologists: ranging from a lack of time (to incorporate genomics into a standard patient visit) to a lack of confidence (in discussing testing with patients) to a lack of space (for genetic counsellors to sit in nephrology clinics).

But here’s what makes the paper special. The authors probed for strategies that could break down these barriers, identifying a total of 25 practical strategies proposed by clinicians. Then they mapped interview data against an implementation science framework to find a further 10 theoretical strategies that could also work.

A screenshot from the paper described in this article. It includes a figure illustrating how empirical and theoretical strategies can address the barriers identified in the study.
A LinkedIn post from co-author A/Prof Stephanie Best

What does this mean for the wider use of genomics? Essentially that blending practical insights with theory can shed light real-world barriers and generate the most useful strategies to address them.

A screenshot of a LinkedIn post that lists the key takeaways from the study, according to one of the authors.
A LinkedIn post from co-author A/Prof Cathy Quinlan

Read the full paper in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

Cheng L, Kugenthiran N, Quinlan C, Stark Z, Jayasinghe K, Best S. Optimising the mainstreaming of renal genomics: Complementing empirical and theoretical strategies for implementation. Eur J Hum Genet. 2025 Feb 12. doi: 10.1038/s41431-025-01797-x.

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