Medicare coverage for specific tests ends June 22

After June 21, Medicare will limit coverage for the core drug-sensitivity genetic tests that comprise YouScript’s Polypharmacy test panel. This means that if you or a loved one are 65 or older and not taking the drugs Plavix, nortriptyline, amitriptyline or Xenazine, you will lose this Medicare benefit.  Drug-sensitivity testing, also called pharmacogenetic testing, allows your doctor to know how your … Read More

Genelex-sponsored research awarded at managed care pharmacy conference

Recent research sponsored by Genelex and undertaken by University of Utah researchers has been recognized at the national Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) conference. The research shows that as many as 50 percent of patients 65 and older are taking at least one medication metabolized by a genetically variable drug metabolizing enzyme. The poster for this work, co-presented by Genelex … Read More

The CEO’s Corner: LDTs prove a hot topic at ACLA conference in D.C.

By Howard Coleman, Genelex CEO The week of May 9 saw scores of scientists, researchers and clinical laboratory professionals descend on the nation’s capital for the annual American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) conference. ACLA serves as a voice in Washington D.C. for clinical laboratories nationwide. A key topic of this year’s conference was the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) … Read More

Medications involved in 1 in 12 child ER visits, study finds

Researchers seeking to fill a knowledge gap in what’s known about the magnitude of pediatric drug-related ER visits have found that 1 in 12 ER trips for children involved medications. What’s more: the researchers found that about two-thirds of these visits were preventable. The authors of the study, published earlier this year in the journal Pediatrics, reported that 8 percent … Read More

Case Report: Common ADHD treatment has reverse effect on 6-year-old boy

Physicians and family taking care of a 6-year-old boy diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) found a common medication used to treat the condition was having the reverse effect. The boy, being treated by providers in Thailand, was described as mischievous, disorderly and restless while at school. He would ignore people around him and even created and spoke his … Read More