Clinicians who treat psychiatric patients know that medications can be lifesaving, but they also know that these same potentially lifesaving psychotropic medications can have serious side effects. We now have a tool in pharmacogenetic testing that can help minimize medication side effects. Patients are increasingly requesting that their provider use this tool to help more accurately select a treatment, address … Read More
Updated Phenotype Terminology
YouScript and Genelex Labs have updated their phenotype names to be consistent with the standardized terms for clinical pharmacogenetic test results proposed by the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) in the July 2016 issue of Genetics in Medicine. Like CPIC, we believe that implementing standardized terminology is an important step toward the widespread adoption of clinical pharmacogenetics. These standard terms … Read More
Oxycodone, Overdoses, and Pharmacogenetics
Everywhere we look, news about the epidemic of opiate abuse, both prescription and illicit, abounds. We hear about frightening statistics, celebrities and neighbors alike overdosing; even the availability of overdose reversal agents has become a talking point among presidential candidates. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported here that 78 Americans die every day from an opioid … Read More
The Pharmacist’s Corner: Understanding Opioid Effectiveness and Adherence Using Pharmacogenetics
By Swan Lin, PharmD Candidate, and Valerie Fishbeck, PharmD A patient walks up to the pharmacy counter with two new prescriptions for the opioid oxycodone, also known as Oxycontin. One is for a long acting form of the medication while the other is for a short-acting form; prescribing both is common pain management strategy. The patient had previously been … Read More
The Pharmacist’s Corner: Clopidogrel dosing and genetic variations
By Rachel Sass, PharmD Should providers increase the clopidogrel dose in patients with decreased functioning CYP2C19 enzymes? Clopidogrel (Plavix) is one of the most well studied medications in pharmacogenetics. Clopidogrel is a prodrug, meaning that it needs to be converted to an active metabolite in the body to have an effect. This metabolizing process occurs in part via the polymorphic … Read More
The Pharmacist’s Corner: What roles can pharmacists play in pharmacogenetics?
By Rachel Sass, PharmD What is your perception of a pharmacist? Someone in a white coat at the local pharmacy who fills your prescriptions, answers your questions and helps you pick out the right over-the-counter medicine? This is how pharmacists have historically been remembered, and while this area of pharmacy is still critical to the field, the pharmacist’s role has … Read More