So here is the scenario:
Your residents are seen by their physicians who then prescribe medications based on that resident’s signs and symptoms and the drugs do what they are supposed to do right?
Real Life
It turns out in real life it is not that simple because not all drugs or classes of drugs are metabolized the same with the same effectiveness in all people. What this means is that you could have two residents with the same signs and symptoms, the same lab values and the same doctor and yet for one resident the medication works great and the other not so great or in some cases not at all.
In fact it is likely that right now in your skilled nursing community or assisted living community some significant percentage of your residents are taking medications that are either not working at all or not working as well as they should.
Why this is Important to you and your residents
- The resident, their family and your staff assume a medication is working when it may not be working. This could mean delays in getting prescribing an effective drug or even worse a substantial degradation of a residents health
- Money and time is wasted on sub-optimal medications during “trial and error” process
- Prescribing the wrong medication means extra physician visits and laboratory costs
- Skilled nursing communities get tagged for not meeting psychotropic drug reduction targets
Solving the Problem
Until PGx Medical reached out to me I confess I was ignorant to both the problem and by extension that there is a cool, painless, easy and cost effective solution to the problem. It turns out there is a simple painless genetic test called Metabolic Validation that gives physicians the guidance they need to validate existing drug regiments are the best for each resident and for prescribing the right medications individually, metabolically.
The test involves taking a simple quick swab of the inside of a resident’s mouth. The swab is analyzed and a report is generated for each resident that allows physicians to know which classes of drugs will be most effective. The data can also provide guidance on dosage.
The Cost – The Cost – The Cost
What makes doing this in your skilled nursing or assisted living community really cool is that Medicare and many Senior HMO’s have figured out that doing this test is both good for residents and can save buckets of money which is why they will cover the cost of the test (once in a lifetime, because Metabolic Validation is a DNA test). The testing done through PGx has demonstrated that 25% – 40% of residents would be better served with a different medication based on Metabolic Validation.
What Metabolic Validation ultimately does is provide a definitive answer to this question:
Does this medication have a realistic chance of being therapeutic for this resident based on their metabolic profile?
From my perspective this is a win-win opportunity for every senior community, every resident and every physician. Better healthcare for your residents, reduced drug costs and a unique marketing tool for your communities. You can learn more about Metabolic Validation at the PGX website, or by calling 405-509-5112 or email info@pgxmed.com to request more information.
Read full article at Senior Housing Forum