FAMILY AND COMMUNITY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN PERSPECTIVE – IRFAN ASIF , MD
Irfan Asif , MD , chair of the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine , had an interesting journey leading to his interest in genomic medicine . As the son of a pediatrician , medicine was always part of his life growing up in Cincinnati , Ohio , but his initial passion was for orthopaedic surgery , after playing soccer for Xavier University .
A tragic event for Dr . Asif during his third year of medical school changed his perspective . He was volunteering to provide medical coverage at a marathon and was the first responder for a 45-yearold male who suffered a cardiac arrest and died . “ It really affirmed that I wanted to go into something where I could look at hearts and try to prevent heart problems in athletes ,” he says .
Dr . Asif redirected his interest toward family medicine , in order to care for athletes and their families . He completed his residency at the University of Washington , where there was a strong focus on sports cardiology and its family medicine program was ranked No . 1 nationally . Since then , Dr . Asif has researched heart problems in athletes to better understand the underlying causes and improve screening methods to reduce the risk of death . He earned international attention for developing criteria for EKG technology that help improve the detection of cardiac abnormalities in athletes .
Dr . Asif arrived at UAB in 2018 , and he credits the institution ’ s focus on precision medicine and addressing health disparities as part of his attraction to Alabama . “ If we go back to the analogy of screening athletes , if there is a better way beyond the EKG to detect heart problems , genomics is squarely in that space ,” he says .
Dr . Asif has since applied his clinical work in family medicine with the Alabama Genomic Health Initiative , as he hopes that genomic medicine will improve health outcomes in family medicine patients . Treating and preventing chronic disease , as well as caring for patients after treatment , are the two ends of the care continuum for Dr . Asif . Getting to know people and taking care of them throughout life contribute to the joy he feels working in family medicine .
One primary driver of family medicine for Dr . Asif is the notion of building strong teams . He is working to develop a culture in which clinicians work closely with other medical providers , such as genetic counselors , when needed . Though uncommon in medical school training , Dr . Asif sees a need for this dynamic , and he looks to the AGHI to provide opportunities to see it in practice .
Some of the conversations surrounding genetic disease risks are challenging and may affect additional family members . It is important to consider how to have these conversations , so that patients and families have a clear understanding of what results do and don ’ t mean . Ethical considerations are another area of interest for Dr . Asif , especially related to athletes . For instance , if a genetic disease risk for a heart condition is found , but the patient shows no physical evidence of it manifesting , should the patient play sports ? How do we counsel that patient on current or future physical activity ? Exploring topics like this within the ethical realm of genomic medicine is an important piece of the AGHI study .
The new practice of returning pharmacogenetic information to participants through AGHI is also of great interest to Dr . Asif . This area of medicine is truly cutting-edge , but it is not a traditional part of medical school training at this time , so it emphasizes the innovative nature of the AGHI study in terms of improving patient care in Alabama . Creating conversations and spaces for research and engagement , Dr . Asif says , is critical for integrating pharmacogenetics into standard care practices . These conversations need to include patients first and foremost , as well as clinicians and the research community . It will take time , but AGHI is spearheading these important discussions .
Dr . Asif believes that digital health , predictive analytics , and artificial intelligence – along with genomic medicine – are aspects of patient care that will continue to grow . Improving training in the medical workforce is a critical goal in moving Alabama up in health outcomes rankings . Dr . Asif is passionate about expanding the primary care workforce across the state , and – to the extent he can promote genomic medicine in patient care – he wants to apply his efforts to helping other physicians take their practices to the next level .
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN PERSPECTIVE – IRFAN ASIF , MD aghi . org 9