Fedhealth is pleased to announce a new partnership with Intelligene, a medical bio-tech company. This collaboration will offer exciting opportunities for genetic testing of our members to improve the efficiency of medication, mitigate health risks by identifying possible future illnesses, and even optimise an individual’s lifestyle by pinpointing the nutrition and lifestyle best suited to their genetic make-up.
With this programme, Fedhealth is one of the first open medical schemes in South Africa to be offering precision medicine-based genetic testing directly to our members.
- As part of the pilot programme starting in March 2023, we’ve identified a group of members currently using chronic medication to manage one of five specific conditions, including diabetes and hypertension. They will be offered free genetic testing to test for drug-to-person interaction to see whether the drug they’re using is doing the best possible job to manage their condition.
- We will also offer gene testing to members with a specific claim history to see if they’re at risk for contracting certain diseases.
- Beyond the initial pilot programmes, Fedhealth has negotiated a special rate for members who voluntarily want to have gene testing performed. Members can customise testing for things like illness pre-dispositions or gathering lifestyle data such as optimal nutrition or sports they’re best suited to.
The gene testing itself is painless and requires a simple cheek swab to be taken and sent to the laboratory for testing.
