As a 12 year-old-boy in India, Ranjit Thirumaran, M.Pharm, PhD, saw the toll adverse drug reactions can take firsthand. Following hospitalization after a minor accident, his uncle suddenly died, likely due to an adverse drug reaction from a recently administered dose of warfarin. “I was always curious: Could something have been done to save him?” said Dr. Thirumaran, Genelex’s associate … Read More
Gauging the IMPACT of pharmacogenetic testing
Update: The results of this research are in! Find out more here. How can pharmacogenetic testing improve care for elderly patients taking multiple medications? Genelex is trying to find out. As a pioneer in the field of personalized medicine, Genelex, the creators of the YouScript Personalized Prescribing System, is continually investigating ways to further research on the benefits of pharmacogenetic … Read More
NIH panel: Patient-centered approach needed for pain management
Those suffering from chronic pain need individualized care strategies to be best served by their physicians, according to the recent findings of an expert panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Persons living with chronic pain have often been grouped into a single category, and treatment approaches have been generalized with little evidence to support this practice,” said … Read More
June is Men’s Health Month!
With Father’s Day approaching, what better way to celebrate the men you call family and friends than by helping to make sure they take their health seriously? June is National Men’s Health month, a time for men everywhere to focus on the health concerns that most often impact them. For many men this means cardiovascular health, which includes controlling blood … Read More
Clinical decision support drug interaction alerts need overhaul, report finds
A new report recognizes the frustration physicians commonly have with drug-drug interaction (DDI) alerts in clinical decision support software and presents a number of ways they could be improved. “Improving the usability of DDI decision support is essential because patient safety is compromised when clinicians perceive DDI alerts as unimportant because of poor presentation or lack of relevance,” authors Payne … Read More
Mapping the human placebome? Genetics may hold key to placebo effect
Could the reason why the placebo effect works for some people and not others lie in their DNA? The authors of a new scientific review article make the case that, just as an individual’s response to medications is dependent upon their unique genetics, so too could their response to placebos. In the article, authors Hall, Loscalzo and Kaptchuk delve into … Read More
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