myGenetics
Your DNA makes you, you. And it may hold the key to understanding certain health risk factors. That’s why HealthPartners created myGenetics, a community health research program.
We invite you to learn what your DNA can tell you about your health through myGenetics. The knowledge we gain will help provide more personalized care to our patients, families and community – building a healthier future for all.
Participating in myGenetics
This voluntary study is open to new and established HealthPartners and Park Nicollet patients who are 18 and older and haven’t received a stem cell transplant or a bone marrow transplant from a donor. Genetic screening is offered at no cost to you, and health insurance is not required.
About myGenetics
This large-scale community health research program is one of the first of its kind in Minnesota. We’re offering genetic screening at no cost to participants and aiming to enroll 100,000 people in the program. Through returning actionable results and developing our secure genetic research database, myGenetics can help enable more personalized and preventive health care for our communities.
What you can learn from your DNA
Genetic screening is offered at no cost to you, and health insurance isn’t required to participate. Through myGenetics, you’ll learn about your genetic risk for:
- Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer
- Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome)
- Familial hypercholesterolemia (hereditary high cholesterol)
You’ll also have the opportunity to learn about your regional ancestry and how your DNA may influence personal traits, including:
- Caffeine sensitivity
- Sleep patterns
- Sweet tooth
- And more!
You’ll receive clinically proven, actionable health results, unique to you. By gaining a better understanding of how your DNA can impact your health, our team of genetic counselors, doctors and experts can work towards providing care tailored to your specific risks and needs.
Approximately one in 75 people will learn they have an actionable genetic risk factor for one of the inherited cancer or heart conditions that are screened as part of this study. A similar program found that 90% of patients who test positive for one of these conditions hadn’t been previously identified under current medical practice.
By sequencing the whole exome, your HealthPartners and Park Nicollet clinicians may have the opportunity to re-query that information throughout your lifetime when a clinical test is recommended. This is so you may continue to learn from your DNA as your care needs change and our understanding of genetics evolves.
How myGenetics works
Taking part in our genetic screening study is easy. Here’s what you can expect after signing up.
Providing a sample
You’ll be guided to make an appointment at one of our labs to provide a blood sample (a saliva sample may be collected if you prefer). Your visit will only take about 15 minutes. Don’t make an appointment for a myGenetics lab visit within 30 days of a blood transfusion.
Once we have your sample, we will send it to our genomics partner Helix to sequence your DNA. In rare circumstances, you might not need to provide a new sample to participate if you’ve already completed a clinical test with Helix. To check if this applies to you, please contact the myGenetics team.
Getting your results
You’ll receive your genetics report in your HealthPartners online account and in your Helix account, if you choose to create one. The results of your actionable health risks will also be sent to your health record and your care team so we can use it to provide personalized care recommendations.
If you’re found to have a risk for one of the inherited cancer or heart conditions that are part of this study, we’ll connect you with one of our genetic counselors. We’ll help you better understand your test results and guide you toward the care you need.
Your genetic information and information from your medical record will also become part of our genetic research database. This will help us support research that may improve health care for future generations.
And as part of our valued research community, we’ll keep you up to date on how your participation is advancing genetic research.
Creating a healthier community
Population genomics research is at the forefront of medical science. A DNA test can provide a more detailed picture of your hereditary health risks than talking through your family history. We’re able to learn if our patients are at clinically higher risks for developing serious health conditions. Finding these genetic markers early may help our care team provide personalized preventive care recommendations, improving lives.
We’re still learning all the ways DNA testing can help improve the quality of health care. By participating in this study, your genetic information will help us learn what may cause certain diseases and how we can treat them more effectively. Together, we can work towards improving the standard of care for all.
Laura Ross, PA-C, the director of the Prevention and Lipid Clinic talks about how myGenetics impacts her work and her patients. Watch success stories from real myGenetics patients.
If you’re not already a HealthPartners or Park Nicollet patient, you can become one by
What to do if you have questions about myGenetics
Our team of experts is just a phone call away. We’re available to answer any questions you might have about participating in this study and the genetic screening that is a part of it.
You can reach us at
Share your myGenetics story
We believe in the power of shared experiences. By participating in myGenetics, you’re helping us learn how we may be able to improve the standards of health care for everyone. We’re proud of how this work will impact the health of our families, friends and community for generations to come.
We’d love to hear about your experience with myGenetics. Sharing your story can help spread awareness about this community research program and encourage others to join. No story is too big or too small to share.
Helix – our partner in genetic testing
As a leader in health care, we’re investing in groundbreaking research so we can continue to provide the best care to our patients and community. To do this, we’ve teamed up with Helix, a leading population genomics company. Helix was awarded the first and only FDA authorization for its whole exome sequencing platform. Together, we’ll deliver powerful genetic information to you and your care team for proactive health care planning.