Dr. Mylynda Massart is a primary care
physician who sees patients at UPMC Matilda Theiss Family Health Center and has
a special interest in genetics. The genetic counseling students are fortunate to
have a three-week rotation with her in our second year. Over the summer, Dr.
Massart started a precision medicine clinic; its purpose is to see patients
with genetic conditions, family histories that might indicate a genetic
condition, and/or need a genetic test ordered. Some of our second year students
who have rotated in this clinic share their experiences.
Dr. Massart’s precision medicine clinic is
still in it’s “dream stage” as she likes to put it, but currently is taking a
small number of patient referrals. As a student, rotating through this clinic
offered me the unique opportunity to get involved with the administrative and
organizational processes required to get a clinic off the ground. By attending
meetings, reviewing literature, and creating forms, I got a small taste of what
Dr. Massart and her team’s vision was turning out to be. And it’s exciting! I
even got to speak to and gather family histories from some of their patients.
The idea that genetic testing can direct medication management for patients has
been around for a while now, but Dr. Massart and her team are doing a great job
at making this idea a reality.
-Andrew Fazenbaker
I had the honor of attending Dr. Massart’s
first precision medicine clinic! One patient actually had two rare genetic
disorders but no genetic testing due to a number of barriers preventing this
individual from being seen by medical genetics. With Dr. Massart, I was able to
take a detailed intake for this patient and give an overview of genetic
testing. Dr. Massart plans to order the genetic testing this patient needs
through the precision medicine clinic. It was very exciting to see firsthand
the impact this clinic will have on individuals living with a number of genetic
disorders. I am excited to see this clinic grow and help a large population of
people with genetic disorders who need a PCP experienced in genetic disorders.
-Sarah McGee
Being able to spend time in Dr. Massart’s
primary care clinic has been an eye opening experience. I never had any idea of how much work it
takes to set up a clinic, never mind all the other clinical and research work
that Dr. Massart does on a day to day basis.
My favorite part of spending time in her clinic thus far is
collaborating with medical students and teaching them about what “red flags” we
look for in families to assess genetic risk.
It highlights how collaborative Dr. Massart’s clinic will be and the
need for integration of genetics into primary care. She is truly changing the
game and it is exciting to be a part of it.
-Christine Drogan
In Dr. Massart’s clinic, I had the opportunity
to share my interest in genetics with other PCPs, nurses, medical students,
pharmacists and pharmacy students. It became evident at a Precision Medicine
meeting how important working as a multidisciplinary team is when we were
researching pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing companies. One of the companies we
were discussing briefly mentioned genetic counseling as an option following
testing. I researched how many others did the same. Of the five companies
offering PGx that we were investigating, only one required genetic counseling.
Two companies recommended genetic counseling, of which one added it as a
“complementary” service with purchase of the test. The remaining two companies
did not mention genetic counseling on their website at all. The fields of
precision medicine and pharmacogenomics are rapidly becoming integrated into
our healthcare system. Many genetic counselors have little formal training in
pharmacy or pharmacogenomics which is why it is so important for us to continue
collaborating, learning from and educating our healthcare provider teammates.
Dr. Massart is a fantastic person to lead the charge.
-Rose Venier
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