In light of the tragedies this past year around the country, mental illness is a hot topic.
According the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the most recent data shows there have been 39,518 suicides reported making suicide the 10th leading cause of death for Americans. In 2011, someone died by suicide every 13.3 minutes. These statistics are alarming.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness states one in four adults – approximately 61.5 million Americans experience mental illness in a given year. One in 17, approximately 13.6 million live with a serious mental illness sucha as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disease.
Serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earning per year. And mood disorders such as depression are the third most common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for both youth and adults ages 18-44.
According to the Washington Post, the mental health-care system in the United States is a multibillion-dollar industry that is still not big enough to serve all those who need it. Costs are a big barrier to treatments — but so are attitudes about mental health. New laws might change access to mental health, although significant barriers still remain. Here’s a look at what we invest in the mental health-care system, what that buys us and where gaps in coverage remain.
The United States spends $113 billion on mental health treatment. That works out to about 5.6 percent of the national healthcare spending, according to a 2011 paper in Journal Health Affairs. And those mental health dollars mostly go toward prescription drugs and outpatient treatment, according to Kaiser Family Foundation.
But how do we know if the medications we are giving mental health patients are even working?
Studies show that over 50% of patients have a variant gene that alters the rate of which they metabolize medications.
So what does this mean for mental illness? How do we know if the medications we are prescribing are even metabolizing?
Predicting patient response
Pharmacogenomics is now being used to help identify genes to help physicians improve the selection of medications for patients with depression and other psychiatric disorders. The test is a simple buccal swab of the cheek that is sent to a laboratory to determine how patients will respond to medications. These tests are designed to aid healthcare professionals when treating patients and eliminate the “trial & error” process which may take too long when dealing with mental illness.
Pharmacogenomics is a way to personalize medicine for each individual. It will help identify patients who might experience adverse effects from antidepressants or antipsychotic medications and help improve adherence.
At PGx Medical we work with hundreds of homes, clinics and pharmacies across the country educating and consulting with healthcare professionals regarding our Metabolic Validation Program. Our consultants work alongside healthcare professionals to help them understand test results and implement them into their day to day patient care.
For more information on how you can implement the PGx Medical Metabolic Validation Program into your healthcare setting, contact:
PGx Medical
Individualized Care – Personalized Mediciane
info@pgxmed.com
405-509-5112
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