EHR Data Help Researchers Find Links Between Genetics and Diseases, New Study Finds

Researchers have found new links between genetics and various diseases by mining electronic health record data, according to a study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology. For the study, researchers grouped about 15,000 billing codes contained in around 13,000 EHRs into 1,600 disease categories and then looked for links to diseases in EHRs that contained DNA data. Joshua Denny -- a biomedical informatics researcher at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a co-author of the study -- said the new method could help link seemingly unrelated symptoms and guide prescription drug research.

• "Linking Genes to Diseases by Sifting Through Electronic Medical Records" (Zimmer, New York Times, 11/28).
• "Genetic Link to Skin Cancer Found in Medical Records" (Young, MIT Technology Review, 11/24).
• "DNA Links to Skin Diseases Found in EMR Data" (Hall, FierceHealthIT, 11/25).