Pharmacogenetics: The Myth about Blanket Testing

So you are thinking about implementating pharmacogenectic testing in your senior community.  Who should you test?

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Recently as we have been educating healthcare professionals regarding pharmacogenetic testing, we have been told, “Our physicians don’t want to blanket test.  And the last company that was in here said that is what we need to do.”

Blanket testing your residents is not the proper protocol by either PGx Medical or CMS.  Pharmacogenetic testing is for residents with medical necessity.  In other words, anyone who is on a prescription drug, poly-pharmacy, physician is considering placing them on, or has a comorbidity associated with one or more of the following panels has medical necessity (depression, anxiety, psych, cardio, pain, anti-coag, ADHD or thrombophila).

As a healthcare professional, you can treat symptoms and you can “react” to side effects.  But how can you be certain if a medication is, or is not working?  Or even has the possibility to work before prescribing? If a person tells you they are in pain, you can assume their pain medication isn’t working.  You might even throw something else on top of the prescription they are already taking to help ease the pain.  By doing this, you are creating a cascading effect that could possibly turn toxic if they are a poor metabolizer of the medication.  So how would you know if a cardio medication isn’t working?  Or a psych medication?  Sometimes you don’t…until it’s too late.

Testing all residents in a senior community isn’t the answer.  Testing residents who are on multiple medications but don’t show any symptoms is what we call, Metabolic Validation.  You are validating that the medications they are taking are working…or are not working.  But you are putting together a medical plan of action.

This once-in-a-lifetime test can be used not only to validate the medication the resident is currently taking, but it gives you pinpoint accurate options for future prescribing.

The PGx Medical Metabolic Validation Program gives healthcare professionals a guide, or roadmap of medications that will metabolize in each individual resident.  Allowing the physician to know ahead of time what medications have the ability to metabolize allowing for pinpoint accurate prescribing and confirmation of current regimen of medications.

So what if your phyician only wants to test residents on an “as needed” basis?

Testing “as needed” usually means you have exhausted all efforts.  You’ve tried the trial-and-error process and that hasn’t worked.  Now testing is your last resort.

That is exactly what you are trying to avoid.  Residents in senior communities sometimes don’t have the luxury of waiting for their medications to work, their mobility, and quality of life depends on it.  So if you test them prior to the fall, prior to the re-hospitalization and prior to the adverse drug event – you have happier and healthier residents, billable beds and staff that can spend more time making life more enjoyable rather than dealing with behavioral issues.

PGx Medical is known for our continuing education. We want to make sure you understand the program before you test your residents and we are there on the back-end to assist you in implementing results.

If you are interested in more education, having PGx Medical speak at your next event, or doing a webinar for your healthcare team, let us know.  Our job, is to make your job, easier.

PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
405-509-5112
info@pgxmed.com

 

 

OCAST Interview with PGx Medical

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It can be difficult to predict who will benefit from a medication, who will not respond at all and who will experience adverse effects. Pharmacogenetics seeks to understand how differences in genes and their expressions affect the body’s response to medications. Learn more from PGx Medical.

Listen to the live interview with OCAST and PGx Medical click here.

More on OCAST:
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Read more at: Oklahoma Center for Advancement of Science & Technology

Pharmacogenomics: Getting Nurses Onboard

Pharmacogenomics has become an area of great potential in the medical community. Therefore, the attitudes and knowledge among healthcare professionals is essential.

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Nurses could play a critical role in the integration of pharmacogenomics testing and into routine practice.  However, to do this, nurses must be accepting of and knowledgeable about this type of genetic testing.

Nurses who are knowledgeable about this type of testing and therapy will be able to become a patient advocate and discuss the benefits and limitations of this therapy with their patients. Patient advocacy is an essential nursing role and is a part of the definition of nursing set out by the American Nursing Association.  However, in order to be a patient advocate, a nurse should have an adequate knowledge base about pharmacogenetic testing as well as accessible resources that may enhance the patient’s understanding of this therapy.

To grasp the basics of pharmacogenomics, you need to understand drug metabolism—specifically the cyto­chrome P450 (CYP450) enzyme system. CYP450 enzymes are the most important drug-metabolizing enzymes, and the CYP450 enzyme system is the most important system affecting drug metabolism. Other genetic factors also affect drug transport proteins, drug absorption, drug receptors, and drug excretion.

In the simplest sense, the goal of pharmacogenomics or metabolic validation testing is to understand the effects of genetics on drug response. If this can be done, drug inefficacy and adverse effects could be predicted and avoided, and appropriate drugs could always be prescribed in the proper dosages.

For more information on pharmacogenomics or how you can implement the PGx Metabolic Validation testing in your facility, contact:

PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
info@pgxmed.com
405-509-5112

Resource:  Americannursetoday.com

Depression in Nursing Home Residents

Depression affects more than 6.5 million of the 35 million Americans aged 65 years or older.

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Depression in elderly people often goes untreated because many people think that depression is a normal part of aging and a natural reaction to chronic illness, loss and social transition.

Treatment Once diagnosed, 80 percent of clinically depressed individuals can be effectively treated by medication.  Medications can be beneficial for elderly individuals in treating the symptoms of depression.

But according to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) research has shown that some depressed individuals may need to try more than one medication to get an optimal response.

But by playing the “trial & error” game, many seniors are living with depression while trying to figure what medication is metabolizing in their body and what isn’t. By doing a simple (once in a lifetime) metabolic validation test which involves a simple swab of the mouth, physicians can now determine what medications will work for each individual resident.  This allows better, more personalized care for the resident and most importantly, a better quality of life.

According to a 2013 Clinical Gerontologist study done by Tracy Chippendale, PhD, OTR/L, “Depressive symptoms are expected to become a leading cause of the global burden of disease, second only to cardiovascular disease, by the year 2020.” Given these ominous statistics, it’s time for nursing home staff to start thinking about what they can do within their own facilities to potentially ease the burden and help their nursing home residents feel less depressed.

The PGx Medical metabolic validation test is reimbursed by medicare so there is no cost to the facility, and no cost to the resident or their family.

For more information, contact:

PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
info@pgxmed.com

405-509-5112

Source:  NAMI.com
Source:  digicareins.com

Will Personalized Medicine Transform Healthcare?

Before pharmacogenomics, healthcare providers used a “one size fits all” approach to treating individuals.

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Now it has the potential to transform healthcare through, avoidance of drug side effects.

Metabolic Validation testing can determine whether you are a poor metabolizer, intermediate or ultra-rapid metabolizer.

The goal of metabolic validation testing (pharmacogenetic testing), is to have drug treatments that are specific to each person.

Today, healthcare providers have the ability to use genomic information to tailor medicine and/or treatments to the individual, and personalize their care.

Nurses are typically on the front line communicating with the patient, family and other healthcare professionals.  It is important that they  understand the impact and effectiveness of personalized medicine.

A nurse can play a big role in personalized medicine.  They can help facilitate drug selection or dosage in treatment of an individual.

In 2007, the FDA revised the label on the common blood-thinning drug warfarin (Coumadin) to explain that a person’s genetic make-up might influence response to the drug.  Warfarin and many other drugs now have a Black Box Warning to let healthcare professionals know patients may need to receive a lower dose or to change what medications they are receiving to avoid adverse drug reactions.

For more information on Metabolic Validation, contact:

PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
info@pgxmed.com
405-509-5112

www.pgxmed.com