Personalized Medicine is a medical model that proposes the customization of healthcare – with medical decisions, practices, and/or products being tailored to the individual patient. ~wikipedia~
Personalized Medicine involves identifying genetic, genomic, and clinical information that allows accurate predictions to be made about a person’s genetic make-up and response to treatment. It is also known as pharmacogenetic tesing (PGx).
Is Personalized Medicine Only For People Who Are Sick Or With Symptoms?
Definitely not. Most healthcare professionals treat patients based on diagnosis and medications available to treat the diagnosis. But how do you know if a 75 year old resident in a memory care unit is getting the therapy they need?
By knowing how an individual can metabolize medications will help guide healthcare professionals when treating that individual and focus more on wellness and prevention of future medical events.
Avoiding Adverse Drug Events
According to a report from the U.S. Health and Human Services, over 770,000 people are injured or die each year in hospitals from adverse drug events (ADEs), which may cost up to $5.6 million each year per hospital. National hospital expenses to treat patients who suffer ADEs during hospitalization are estimated at between $1.56 and $5.6 billion annually. Patient injuries resulting from drug therapy are among the most common types of adverse events that occur in hospitals.
More than 80% of ADRs causing admission or occurring in hospital are type A (dose-related) in nature, and thus predictable from the known pharmacology of the drug and therefore potentially avoidable. ~ncbi.com~
The process of prescribing a medication is complex and includes: deciding that a drug is indicated, choosing the best drug, determining a dose and schedule appropriate for the patient’s physiologic status, monitoring for effectiveness and toxicity, educating the patient about expected side effects, and indications for seeking consultation. With Personalized Medicine, we call that, Right Drug, Right Dose, Right Person. And a simple buccal swab of the cheek can tell you what medications will work for that individual.
So Why Wouldn’t A Healthcare Professional Perform The Test On Patients With Medical Necessity?
Education is the key. The purpose of PGx testing is to determine the risk of side effects and/or likelihood of effectiveness of a given medication. Physicians are often asked about side effects of prescribed drugs and factors that may alter the effectiveness of a drug, and if PGx testing is an option, it should be part of that conversation. Educating healthcare professionals and patients that this test is a “drug response test” that will help healthcare professionals with proper prescribing to help save time (trial-and-error), cost (medications that don’t work) and more importantly help patients live a better quality of life.
Outcomes of PGx Testing
Pharmacogenetic test results are not only important for the drug which prompted the testing, but potentially for other drugs prescribed in the future. Therefore, test results can help inform other treatment decisions in the future.
For more information on Pharmacogenetic Testing, contact:
PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
info@pgxmed.com
405-509-5112
sources: ncbi.com, nih.com