Lively Panel Discussion: How to Choose Clinically Relevant Targets for Your Infectious Disease Panels

When building your own infectious disease molecular panels there are many paths to consider. In this interview, we ask Marcus Cognetti and Dr. Ari Frenkel what approach is required to create clinically relevant diagnostic tests and how this can impact the journey to reimbursement. We discuss where to look for resources and what clinical relevance really means. How should labs set themselves up to generate evidence to support arguments for clinical utility? While many tests identify pathogens, more and more tests integrate antimicrobial resistance gene targets. We discuss how to select relevant antimicrobial resistance gene targets in accordance with sample source and disease state. And finally, building payor-supported infectious disease panels may be the final goal but reimbursement plays an integral role in many milestones along the process.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review literature & guidelines to choose content.

2. Review what clinical evidence is required.

3. Summarize relevant organisms and antimicrobial resistance gene targets.

4. Discuss reimbursement considerations.