PGx Medical is proud to partner with senior communities across the country to help educate and implement pharmacogenetics.
As we work alongside long-term care communities, clinics and pharmacies, we have the privilege of receiving success stories on how pharmacogenetics has impacted residents, patients, family and staff.
PGx Medical is proud to partner with senior communities across the country to help educate and implement pharmacogenetics.
Below is an interview with our partner community in Virginia Beach:
Resident 1:
We had one resident who came to us from a skilled facility. When she arrived, she was on an antipsychotic medication which we immediately look at as a red flag. We don’t want our residents on antipsychotics if we can avoid it. She was having some tearful episodes so we decided to do a pharmacogenetic test to see what the test results said because her family was reluctant to stop the medication. She was also on the medication for a diagnosis which was not really appropriate for the medication – the diagnosis was depression. We swabbed her and the test results came back that the medication Seroquel was in the black box for Use with Caution. Then we were able to go back to the family and talk to them about the test results and how that medication was probably not the best for her. So we started her on Effexor which was in the green category on the test report. The tearful episodes have decreased and she has made a really nice adjustment in the community.
The family was well educated and very involved in their loved ones life. They were nervous at first, but once we explained the test they were open to the test and didn’t want her on a medication that wasn’t effective for her. The family has been to a care plan meeting with our staff since the change and they seem happy with her progress.
Resident 2:
We had another resident who came to us from a skilled facility. She had a significant stroke that affected her ability to verbally communicate. She was having numerous crying episodes along with significant frustrations with her inability to effectively communicate with us. This was very sad to watch and was extremely frustrating to her because she thought she was saying things that we could understand. She was having these episodes frequently so we decided to test her. After reviewing her test results, we discontinued Lexapro and we started Effexor which was in the green category on the pharmacogenetic test report. There has been a significant change in her behaviors. She is having episodes a lot less then she used to. They now happen every once in a while where they were happening a couple of times a week before we made the change. She just seems more content.
~Virginia Beach Senior Community
Clinical Caregiver
PGx Medical is the trusted and experienced resource for implementation of pharmacogenetics into the field of aging services. For more information on pharmacogenetics, or contact us at info@pgxmed.com or 405-509-5112.