by brant bullard | Apr 14, 2014 | News
Your genes tell your story. How tall you are and even how you look. They also play a key role in how your body responds to medicines.
The terms pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics are often used interchangeably to describe a field of research focused on how genes affect individual responses to medicines. Whether a medicine works well for you—or whether it causes serious side effects—depends, to a certain extent, on your genes.
Q: Why is a pharmacogenetic test done?
A: A pharmacogenetic test can be done before or after medicine has been prescribed. It can help predict how a patient will metabolize a drug, allowing the physician to adjust dosages to get maximum efficacy from a drug with minimum side effects.
Q: Are the results of pharmacogenetic tests confidential?
A: While pharmacogenetic tests are designed to help people, some fear that the results could be used against them, such as to discriminate against them in a job setting or to deny them health insurance coverage. A person’s genetic information is protected through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which was passed by Congress in 1996. Many states also have laws in place that protect the privacy of health information, including genetic data.
Q: How will pharmacogenetics affect the quality of health care?
A: In the future, pharmacogenomics will increasingly enable doctors to prescribe the right dose of the right medicine the first time for everyone. This would mean that patients will receive medicines that are safer and more effective, leading to better health care overall.
Also, if scientists could identify the genetic basis for certain toxic side effects, drugs could be prescribed only to those who are not genetically at risk for these effects. This could maintain the availability of potentially lifesaving medications that might otherwise be taken off the market.
Q How do I get a pharmacogentic test?
A: On a doctors order. Once your doctor orders the test, a simple swab is taken from the inside of your mouth and sent to a laboratory. Results are sent back to your doctor to help identify the optimal dose and/or medicine for each patient.
*Source: National Institute of General Medicine Science
For more information on pharmacogenetic testing, contact:
PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
405-509-5112
info@pgxmed.com
www.pgxmed.com
by brant bullard | Apr 10, 2014 | Uncategorized
Why should I know my patients’ genotype?
Many people have a gene variant that affects the function of one or more drug metabolizing enzymes. The altered enzyme function can change the rate of drug metabolism. Patients with gene variants are more likely to experience drug toxicity or lack of efficacy.
Most variants cause a loss of enzyme function. Patients who have these variants are poor or intermediate metabolizers. A few people have variants that increase enzyme function. These patients are ultra-rapid metabolizers.
Patients on multiple drugs are at the highest risk for adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Taking multiple medications increases the likelihood that one or more will not be metabolized correctly.
A simple genetic test helps you avoid adverse drug reactions and provide your patient a better quality of life.
For more information on how you can offer your patients/residents a better quality of life with no cost to the facility or patient, and lower healthcare costs, contact:
PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
405-509-5112
info@pgxmed.com
by brant bullard | Apr 6, 2014 | Metabolic Validation Program
Are you doing everything you can to provide the best healthcare and personalized care for your residents?
In a recent article on Senior Housing Forum, the author states, “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.”
So let me ask you, if you could offer your residents personalized medicine that would improve their quality of life, would you do it?
Pharmacogenetics isn’t new but it is just now gaining the attention of healthcare professionals – especially in senior communities where the majority of residents are on multiple medications.
What makes this work in senior communities is that medicare and many senior HMO’s realize that this tool will save them money so they will cover the “once in a lifetime” test. The PGx Metabolic Validation Program has demonstrated that 25%-40% of residents would benefit from the test and be treated with a different medication based on Metabolic Validation.
The PGx Metabolic Validation Program is simple. On the physicians orders, a quick swab is taken of the inside of the resident’t mouth. Once the swab is analyzed and a report is generated, the physician can treat that resident on a personal basis. The report allows physicians to know which classes of drugs will be most effective, and the data can also provide guidance on dosage.
This test is no different than any other lab work and is kept in the residents file to help improve their quality of life and decrease the “trial & error” process. Which makes it very accepting for families and a unique marketing tool for homes. Better care and personalized attention.
For more information, or to schedule an implementation meeting, contact:
PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Medicine
info@pgxmed.com
405-509-5112
www.pgxmed.com
by brant bullard | Apr 5, 2014 | Metabolic Validation Program
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
by brant bullard | Apr 2, 2014 | News
What is a Black Box Warning?
Boxed Warning:
This type of warning is also commonly referred to as a “black box warning.” It appears on a prescription drug’s label and is designed to call attention to serious or life-threatening risks.
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approves a drug for marketing after determining that the drug’s benefits outweigh the risks for the condition that the drug will treat.
But even with a rigorous evaluation process, some safety problems surface only after a drug has been on the market and has been used in a broader population.
Adverse drug reaction:
An adverse drug reaction (ADR), also called a side effect, is any undesirable experience associated with the use of a medicine in a patient. Adverse events can range from mild to severe. Serious adverse events are those that can cause disability, are life-threatening, result in hospitalization or death, or are birth defects.
The Black Box Warning is the strongest warning that the FDA requires. This warning is reserved for prescription drugs that pose a significant risk of serious or life-threatening adverse effects, based on medical studies. The Black Box Warning is included in the labeling or medical information of the prescription drug. Search Drug specific index
PGx Medical has implemented the Metabolic Validation Program (Pharmacogenetic Testing) in hundreds of clinics and homes across the country. This program helps reduce the risk of adverse drug reactions, maximize drug efficacy and individualize drug dose.
Pharmacogenetics uses information (such as DNA sequence, gene expression, and copy number) for purposes of explaining inter individual differences in drug metabolism (pharmacokinetics) and physiological drug response (pharmacodynamics), identifying responders and non responders to a drug, and predicting the efficacy and/or toxicity of a drug. Eliminating the “trial & error” process and improving quality of life.
For more information on the PGx Metabolic Validation Program, contact:
PGx Medical
info@pgxmed.com
405-509-5112
www.pgxmed.com
