It’s tragic when a young life is haunted by the specter of a disease that causes chronic pain. Such afflictions affect child and family both, making the availability of caregiver resources all the more vital. Since 2011, The Coalition Against Pediatric Pain (TCAPP) has been supporting families of children affected by chronic pain from rare diseases and has brought many … Read More
Participating in life again: A patient story of pediatric pain
Barbara Granoff, Founding Member of The Coalition Against Pediatric Pain (TCAPP), says her 15-year-old daughter’s life was changed by the DNA drug sensitivity testing Genelex offers. Shira is living with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome as well as dysautonomia, gastroparesis, Mast Cell Activation Disorder and more. “The amount of medications we tried in hopes of controlling the pain is mind boggling,” mother … Read More
Can the Marriage of Pharmacogenetics and EHRs Solve Adoption Problems?
Don’t be intimidated by the idea of starting to use pharmacogenetics in your clinic – the tools you need may already be at your disposal. The New England Healthcare Institute states that medication management tools such as pharmacogenetic testing can help reduce readmissions and prevent costly adverse drug events. After all, a 2010 study by Davies et al. found that … Read More
Opioid Overdose Continues to Rise
A worrisome trend continues. Despite medical and government efforts, opioid-related deaths continue to rise across the country. According to the CDC, drug overdose death rates have more than doubled in the past 15 years and now take more lives than automobile accidents among 25 to 64-year-olds. Rates of abuse seem highest in white, middle-aged males and translate to a financial … Read More
St. Jude Implements PG4KDS Pharmacogenetic Testing
One of the biggest barriers to the adoption of pharmacogenetics is uncertainty about implementation, but major institutions are already pursing pharmacogenetics. For instance, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital just published their pediatric pharmacogenetics program model. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment facility located in Memphis, Tennessee that’s famous for its dedication to patient care and its embrace … Read More
Study Shows Promise for Reducing Unnecessary Procedures
An immense medication management trial sponsored by Leumit Health Care Services, an Israeli health fund, and Teva Pharmaceuticals is ending this year. The trial examined the clinical outcomes of using integrated drug and gene interaction alerts in an EHR, something few other studies have done and which has been sorely needed in the industry. The study involved Leumit integrating a … Read More
Psychiatrist’s Love of Technology Translates into Better Patient Care
Something a patient might notice when they’re talking with Dr. Michael Rieser is his computer. It might, for instance, be filling itself with words – the patient’s own words – recorded, transcribed and saved to the patient’s file automatically. Dr. Rieser, a psychiatrist working in Lexington, Kentucky, has always been interested in technology that can help him provide better patient … Read More
Chronic pain patients’ pocketbooks feel pinch of major drug-drug interactions
Chronic pain patients already have enough to worry about from adverse drug events, but a new study highlights a possibly overlooked concern – their costs. According to a recent study published by Pergolizzi et al. in the May 2014 article in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, already vulnerable chronic pain patients could end up paying 22 percent more … Read More
People of Note: Dr. David Nash
Physicians will need to start thinking on a higher level, at least according to Dr. David Nash. One of the keynote speakers at this year’s Allscripts Client Experience (ACE), and founder of the Jefferson School of Population Health at Thomas Jefferson University, Dr. Nash is an outspoken proponent for population-focused care. According to Dr. Nash, hospitals need to be using … Read More
Study links genetics to skin reactions caused by common anti-epileptic drug
A study released this month provides a genetic link between a drug commonly prescribed to combat seizures and severe adverse, potentially fatal skin reactions. The study, which was published by Chung et al. in the August 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, associated variants of the CYP2C gene group (which includes CYP2C9 and CYP2C19) with maculopapular … Read More