Undiagnosed Diseases Program
UAB Medicine’s Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP) evaluates and cares for patients who have a severe, chronic medical condition that has not been diagnosed despite extensive efforts by other physicians. Staffed by a team of experienced doctors, the program utilizes advanced technology in the areas of genetics and genomics (the study of DNA for medical purposes) to determine a diagnosis and recommend effective treatment. Our program is powered by UAB Medicine, Children’s of Alabama, and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology , a collaboration designed to bring a “personalized medicine” approach to diagnosing rare and undiagnosed disease. Personalized medicine is a way of providing health care in which medical decisions, treatment options, and prescribed drugs are chosen based on the patient’s individual genetic makeup.
Two separate clinics have been established: one within the UDP, which is housed in the Kaul Human Genetics Building at UAB, and the other is located at the Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine at HudsonAlpha in Huntsville. In early 2016, UAB Medicine will open two new clinics to better accommodate patients and families. Adult patients will be seen at the UDP clinic in The Kirklin Clinic of UAB Hospital, and pediatric patients will be seen at Children’s of Alabama.
UDP Clinic Location and Hours
Kaul Human Genetics Building
720 20th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35294
Monday-Friday 7:30 am - 4:30 pm
Phone 205.934.4983
Fax 205.934.4111
Why UAB
The UDP accepts patients of all ages, but it generally limits its services to patients with rare diseases, conditions not previously known to exist, and common diseases or disorders that develop in unusual ways. Despite evaluation by the UDP team, it is possible that a diagnosis will not be made. If the UDP staff anticipates that it will not likely be able to make a diagnosis, it may recommend alternative programs within UAB Medicine that may be able to help the patient.
Requirements for acceptance in the UDP include:
- Patients must be referred by a physician; self-referrals are not accepted.
- Patients must have had an extensive evaluation that did not result in a diagnosis
- The condition prompting the referral must be significant in terms of organ dysfunction, major symptoms, or loss of function
- Patients must be clinically stable and not in need of urgent evaluation and care.
- The duration of the condition must be six months or longer.
- The UDP medical staff, upon evaluation of the patient’s status, must determine that our resources and expertise offer the opportunity to reach a diagnosis, beyond what has already been done.
- The UDP is a clinical program, not a research program. As such, it is unable to provide free care, so clinical services associated with the program are billed in the usual way. The UDP staff will work with patients and insurance companies to obtain preauthorization for any consultations, tests, or procedures done as part of the patient evaluation and will work with patients who do not have health insurance on a case-by-case basis. There is no charge to submit medical records for consideration for evaluation in the program.
Latest Headlines
-
Women in Medicine Spotlight: Tiffany Mayo, MD
- Publish Date
- 2/20/19
-
UAB Dietitians Reveal Their ‘Guilty Pleasures’
- Publish Date
- 2/14/19
-
Medications and Kidney Disease: What You Should Know
- Publish Date
- 2/14/19
-
Women in Medicine Spotlight: Jayme Locke, MD
- Publish Date
- 1/31/19
-
UAB Medicine Supports Heart Month 2019
- Publish Date
- 1/30/19
-
VIDEO: Celebrating National Women Physicians Day
- Publish Date
- 1/28/19
-
UAB Clinicians You Should be Following on Twitter: Part II
- Publish Date
- 1/22/19
-
Genome: Unlocking Life's Code
- Publish Date
- 1/16/19
-
UAB Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology 2018 Facts & Figures
- Publish Date
- 1/16/19
-
UAB Faculty and Fellows Active in American College of Rheumatology Leadership
- Publish Date
- 1/3/19
UPCOMING CLASSES AND EVENTS
- Genome: Unlocking Life's Code
Do you have your mother’s dimples? Or your father’s hairline? What makes us, us? And how much of it actually sets us apart from every other living thing on Earth?
Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code begins to unravel the mystery behind the complete set of instructions needed for every living thing on Earth to grow and function: the genome. Discover how your genome could be the key to maximizing your future quality of life as genomic science helps open the way to more personalized healthcare. See yourself in a new way: as an individual, as a member of a family, and as part of the diversity of life on Earth.
Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code opens January 19 at McWane Science Center and was made possible in part by financial support secured by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health. The exhibit is sponsored by UAB Medicine, which is using its knowledge of the human genome to advance the field of precision medicine, an exciting approach to health care that combines the absolute latest in the prediction and prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease to deliver truly individualized patient care.