Modeling and comparison of costs and high-risk variant detection between a genetic counseling chatbot and a traditional genetic counseling pathway

Approximately 5–8% of the general population carries a germline pathogenic variant (PV) in a cancer gene. Current screening methods fail to identify many of these patients, especially in underserved populations. The increasing number of actionable genes, decreasing cost of genetic testing, and shortage of genetic counselors have amplified the need for novel strategies to approach equitable access to high-risk care. The virtual Genetic Information Assistant (Gia®) is a cloud-based chatbot designed to screen patients for high-risk PVs and counsel them regarding genetic testing. We sought to determine whether Gia has the capability to identify a greater number of high-risk patients at a lower cost compared to a traditional workflow that includes referral for genetic counseling (GC).