
Providers
Thank you for taking the time to visit our page. Hopefully you will find this information interesting and useful.
Pharmacogenomic Testing Overview
Pharmacogenomic (PGx) tests can help predict how a patient will respond to a medication based on individual genetic makeup.
- Genetic variants affect drug absorption, metabolism and activity.
- Some testing labs can provide recommendations for over 300 medications including psychiatric, cardiac and pain medications.
- Utilizing Next generation Sequencing technology enables comprehensive coverage of about 200 gene variants in over 50 genes.
Therapeutic Areas
Pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing can help improve drug therapy in several therapeutic areas including:
- Cardiology
- Infectious disease
- Neurology
- Oncology
- Pain Management
- Psychiatry
There are over 300 medications with pharmacogenetic information included in the labeling. https://www.pharmgkb.org keeps a brief summary of the PGx information and testing requirements. You can view the complete list of covered medications here https://www.pharmgkb.org/labelAnnotations
Economics of Pharmacogenomics
One of the first questions that come to mind is the issue of costs. Does it make sense to do pharmacogenomic testing for your patient? Is this test cost effective? Will they (the insurance or other payor) pay for it and will they save money in the long run by performing the test?
Studies have shown a cost benefit in many cases. below are links to studies that have looked into the issue of cost and many show a financial benefit to pharmacogenomic testing.
Reviewed several studies and analyzed cost effectiveness and found the majority of studies reviewed showed testing was more cost effective than not testing.
Pharmacogenomics Education
If you are unfamiliar with pharmacogenomics, or you want to learn more about it and how you can use it to help your patients, we have searched for well done educational videos.
Here you will find a series of videos from the University of California, San Diego which will provide in depth information you can start using in your practice.