At PGx Medical, our goal is to educate healthcare professionals across the country on our Metabolic Validation (pharmacogenomics) test.
Metabolic Validation is a way to “personalize” medicine. Personalized medicine isn’t a fad, it has been around for over a decade. But it is now coming to the forefront of the healthcare industry.
As part of our ongoing relationship with our partners, PGx Medical loves to share what they are saying about us and our program.
PGx Medical Metabolic Validation Program
Interview with:
Karen White, Director of Nursing
Cordell Christian Home
Q: As a DON and/or Administrator, do you find the PGx Medical Metabolic Validation Program to be easy to administer?
DON: Yes it is very easy.
Q: How much time do you and your staff allow to test your residents?
DON: I haven’t actually given that a lot of thought. We wait until we have a few residents that need the test, then obtain a buccal sample and send it off.
Q: Do you find the test results to be helpful when dosing or treating your residents?
DON: Yes! We are able to understand our residents’ needs better.
Q: Tell us why your home chose to implement Metabolic Validation testing?
DON: We thought the testing would improve how we care for our residents and it did. Also, our OSDH survey team was really impressed with our steps to help keep the psychotropic drug use at a minimal amount.
Q: How has metabolic validation (aka pharmacogenomics) changed the culture of your home and med review for patients in your home?
DON: We are able to provide even more individualized care to our people.
Q: What % of residents on average do you see, after testing, are in need of a dose change or med change or discontinuing of a medication?
DON: We have made a few changes in medications. But I have a peaceful mind that we are doing everything we should be doing for our residents to perform at their highest practicable.
Q: Has metabolic validation played a role in avoiding F-tags in your home?
DON: I think it helps in our defense as to why someone requires a larger dose of a certain medication, or why someone needs a medication more often than others. 2014 was the first year that we did not get the ‘unnecessary drug’ tag!
For more information on how you can schedule Metabolic Validation Testing, contact:
PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
Info@pgxmed.com
405-509-5112
PGx Medical is proud to partner with Parks Edge Nursing & Rehab!
Once Parks Edge Nursing & Rehab learned about Pharmogenetic Testing, we did not hesitate to offer this benefit to our residents. The process was very easy from beginning to results. The PGx Medical consultant met with us at our facility and walked us through the process of getting the testing started. Their process is called Metabolic Validation (pharmacogenomic testings). PGX Medical even took care of most of the paperwork. We only had to provide the resident’s information, medications, and diagnosis to complete the paperwork.
The testing is as simple as swabbing the inner cheek. Parks Edge was able to test 75% of our eligible residents in a few hours. PGX Medical also makes sending the swabs off to their lab an easy process. They provide all the tools needed to complete the testing. The testing results are available online usually with 48 – 72 hours. Again PGX Medical provides a consultant to help the facility understand the test results.
Parks Edge and our Medical Director decided to take the test results and triage the residents needs. The Director of Nursing took the test results and compared them to the residents medications. The residents current medications were highlighted indicating whether the medication was properly metabolized or if the physician needed to consider a change. This made the process of reviewing the results easier. We started with our resident with “behaviors”. Next the medications that indicated “Avoid use” were addressed. This process took less than 30 minutes of the physician’s time each week. We were able to address the test result of approximately 50 residents in just a few weeks.
Most of our residents had medications that needed to be changed. The physician was able to reduce the amount of medications that some residents receive. We look forward to seeing the long term benefits of this testing.
Tonya Mitchell, RN, DON
Parks Edge Nursing Center
For more information on the PGx Medical Metabolic Validation Test, contact:
PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
info@pgxmed.com / www.pgxmed.com
405-509-5112
Recently while speaking and educating across the country, we came up with the Top 5 Questions asked about our PGx Metabolic Validation Program. We hope these will answer any question you might have regarding our tool.
Q: Who pays for the metabolic validation test?
PGx: Metabolic Validation (Pharmacogenomics) is available to patients/residents with any of the following coverages:
Q: How do I get tested?
PGx: A doctor must order the metabolic validation test. If your home, clinic or family physician isn’t already testing patients, just tell them you would like to request it and they can request test kits at info@pgxmed.com or call us 405-509-5112. We’ll be happy to coordinate everything for them.
Q: What is the science behind Metabolic Validation/Pharmacogenomics?
PGx: The body of scientific studies and research from the FDA, NIH, drug manufacturers and the molecular genetic community continues to highlight pharmacogenomic values for the use of a metabolic validation tool. Some of the key highlights of the clinical application of this science:
Q: Do all patients metabolize mediciation the same way?
PGx: Over 50% of patients have gene variants that alter the rate at which they metabolize medications.
Q: Why am I just now hearing about Metabolic Validation?PGx: Metabolic Validation testing (pharmacogenomics) isn’t new. It has been around for decades. The only difference is medicare has made it affordable and now more available to you. Along with the age of technology which has brought awareness to the general public with unlimited information and education available via the internet so more people are hearing about and understanding the value of metabolic validation. PGx Medical has also made an aggressive effort to bring it to the forefront by partnering with state agencies and speaking/educating across the country regarding the benefits of this once in a lifetime test. Our tool helps healthcare professionals determine the right drug, right dose for the right patient making it easy to incorporate personalized medicine into their patient care.
For more information on the PGx Medical Metabolic Validation Test:
PGx Medical
405-509-5112
info@pgxmed.com
www.pgxmed.com
Source:
http://www.fda.gov/drugs/scienceresearch/researchareas/pharmacogenetics/ucm083378.htm (1)
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/UCM337169.pdf) (2)
http://www.pharmgkb.org/cpic/pairs (3)
As a healthcare professional, do you heed their warning?
Black Box Warnings:
A prominently displayed boxed warning, the so-called “black box,” is added to the labeling of drugs or drug products by the Food and Drug Administration when serious adverse reactions or special problems occur, particularly those that may lead to death or serious injury. Healthcare providers are often not knowledgeable about the origin, meaning, and implications of these “black box” warnings. In this review, our goal is to provide insight into how the Food and Drug Administration evaluates, communicates, and manages drug benefit/risk. We discuss drug labeling, the emphasis on safety throughout the drug approval process, legislative initiatives for safe use of drugs in children, and postmarketing safety surveillance. In addition, we encourage health care providers to report drug reactions to the Food and Drug Administration’s MedWatch program. A discussion of new Food and Drug Administration initiatives to improve drug safety processes and methods to serve the public better are highlighted. source: www.ncbi.gov
How can pharmacogenomics help?
Until recently, drugs have been developed with the idea that each drug works pretty much the same in everybody. But genomic research has changed that “one size fits all” approach and opened the door to more personalized approaches to using and developing drugs.
Depending on your genetic makeup, some drugs may work more or less effectively for you than they do in other people. Likewise, some drugs may produce more or fewer side effects in you than in someone else. In the near future, doctors will be able to routinely use information about your genetic makeup to choose those drugs and drug doses that offer the greatest chance of helping you.
Pharmacogenomics may also help to save you time and money. By using information about your genetic makeup, doctors soon may be able to avoid the trial-and-error approach of giving you various drugs that are not likely to work for you until they find the right one. Using pharmacogenomics, the “best-fit” drug to help you can be chosen from the beginning.
Pharmacogenomics may also help to quickly identify the best drugs to treat people with certain mental health disorders. For example, while some patients with depression respond to the first drug they are given, many do not, and doctors have to try another drug. Because each drug takes weeks to take its full effect, patients’ depression may grow worse during the time spent searching for a drug that helps. source: genome.gov
Pharmacogenomics or metabolic validation testing isn’t new and is being used in hundreds of healthcare facilities across the country. These tests help treat patients without the “trial & error” model we have used in the past. By doing this, physicians and pharmacist are able to treat patients the first time and help provide them a better quality of life.
For more information on Metabolic Validation Testing, contact:
PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
info@pgxmed.com
405-509-5112