YouScript and PDX announce today an agreement to deliver integrated YouScript® precision prescribing clinical decision support to all PDX pharmacy software users that opt in. Pharmacists will now be able to advise patients when they have a high risk of gene-based adverse drug events, and work with their providers to order testing and optimize drug and dose selection based on each patient’s unique DNA and all medications, herbals, and OTCs they are taking.
Each year, adverse drug events (ADEs) claim over 100,000 lives and cause over 700,000 emergency department visits; most are caused by medications prescribed according to guidelines.1 Some of this occurs because typical drug interaction software is only capable of detecting binary drug-drug interactions; but overlooks gene-based interactions and interactions caused by combinations of three or more drugs or genes that represent over 50% of significant interactions.
Utilizing a proprietary Risk Analysis dashboard, pharmacists are alerted as to which patients are most vulnerable to significant medication problems so they can make proactive decisions in coordination with physicians and the patient. The one-time test cost paid by the patient includes one year of access to YouScript alerts on any new prescriptions to be sure they are not a mismatch with the patient’s genes or other medications. After one year, either the pharmacy or patient can extend alerts depending on how the PDX pharmacy has chosen to participate.
Recent studies2 showed that using YouScript reduces re-hospitalizations and emergency room visits by 52% and 42%, respectively. With over 14,000 curated references and product inserts, YouScript acts like a team of clinical pharmacists delivering real-time, evidence based guidance.
“By providing PDX’s vast network of retail pharmacists the capability to integrate YouScript into their Care Rx® workflow, we are ensuring that the medications they dispense are the safest and most effective choices the current evidence allows for,” said YouScript CEO Kristine Ashcraft. “We are honored to work with PDX to further improve their positive impact on patient safety.”
“The entire PDX team is excited to work with YouScript and to offer customers the integration with YouScript’s suite of services. We believe genetics is a critical success factor in the future of pharmacy practice,” said PDX Vice President, Trey Ferguson. “YouScript’s expertise in this arena is evident and this integration with YouScript’s capabilities will allow our shared Pharmacy partners to provide an enhanced level of patient care and safety.”
1. Budnitz DS, Pollock DA, Weidenbach KN, Mendelsohn AB, Schroeder TJ, Annest JL. National Surveillance of Emergency Department Visits for Outpatient Adverse Drug Events. JAMA. 2006;296(15):1858-1866. doi:10.1001/jama.296.15.1858
2. Elliott LS, Henderson JC, Neradilek MB, Moyer NA, Ashcraft KC, Thirumaran RK. (2017) Clinical impact of pharmacogenetic profiling with a clinical decision support tool in polypharmacy home health patients: A prospective pilot randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE 12(2): e0170905. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170905
About PDX, Inc.
With 30-plus years of experience and with nearly 10,000 pharmacies across the U.S. using their technologies and services, PDX and its affiliates provide the pharmacy and healthcare business with proven solutions, which include: a flexible clinical services application, Care Rx®; a revenue cycle management solution, Absolute AR®; the fast, intuitive, and advanced Enterprise Pharmacy System—already the choice of over 40 chains and one major managed-care plan; the portable, interoperable Electronic Pharmacy Record; a business intelligence solution in Explore Rx™; an independent-focused Community Pharmacy Division; the robust and efficient point-of-sale systems; the pharmaceutical manufacturer performance programs; and more. Under the parent company of National Health Coalition™, subsidiaries PDX, Inc.; National Health Information Network, Inc.; Rx.com Prescription Drug Network, Inc.; and Freedom Data Systems, Inc., continue to build on their commitment to excellence in retail pharmacy and patient care. www.pdxinc.com
