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pharmacogenomics
Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genes affect a person’s response to drugs. This relatively new field combines pharmacology (the science of drugs) and genomics (the study of genes and their functions) to develop effective, safe medications and doses that will be tailored to a person’s genetic makeup. Medical professionals and administrators hope this will save lives while also enhancing the practice of personalized medicine, in which drugs and drug combinations are optimized for each individual’s unique genetic makeup.
Many drugs that are currently available are “one size fits all,” but they don’t work the same way for everyone. Whether used to explain a patient’s response or lack thereof to a treatment, or act as a predictive tool, personalized medicine hopes to achieve better treatment outcomes, greater efficacy, minimization of the occurrence of drug toxicities and adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Adverse drug reactions are a significant cause of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States.
With the knowledge gained from the Human Genome Project, researchers are learning how inherited differences in genes affect the body’s response to medications. These genetic differences will be used to predict whether a medication will be effective for a particular person and to help prevent adverse drug reactions.
The field of pharmacogenomics is still in its infancy. Its use is currently quite limited, but new approaches are under study in clinical trials. In the future, pharmacogenomics will allow the development of tailored drugs to treat a wide range of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer disease, cancer, HIV/AIDS, and asthma.
The term pharmacogenomics is often used interchangeably with pharmacogenetics. Although both terms relate to drug response based on genetic influences, pharmacogenetics focuses on single drug-gene interactions, while pharmacogenomics encompasses a more genome-wide association approach, incorporating genomics and epigenetics while dealing with the effects of multiple genes on drug response.
Pharmacogenetic Tests Deliver for Avera Health Lab
CEO SUMMARY: When Avera Institute for Human Genetics wanted to expand its genomics program, it used its past learning with pharmacogenetics to guide the effort. Two key insights? Ask physicians abo…
U of Florida Health Improves Patient Care with PGx Testing
CEO SUMMARY: Since 2011, the University of Florida Health System has used pharmacogenetic test (PGx) results to guide physicians when they prescribe certain drugs. This initiative has improved patient outcomes, reduced the overall cost per episode of care, and gained partial reimbursemen…
Under Audit, Labs Need Statistics on Their Side
CEO SUMMARY: When commercial and government payers use auditors to review a lab’s claims, they often use statistical sampling and extrapolation to limit the time needed to review claims. But proper sampling and extrapolation require following the rigorous scientific methods to produce a…
Coming Soon to a Doctor’s Office Near You!
IT’S TIME FOR ALL CLINICAL LABS AND ANATOMIC PATHOLOGY GROUPS to pay closer attention to the advances in genetic medicine and precision medicine. Events are moving even faster than most experts have predicted. As you will read on pages 3-4, two innovative health networks are on the verge of offeri…
TOP 10 LAB STORIES OF 2017
1. CMS Sticks by Decision to Deeply Cut Medicare Part B Lab Test Fees SHORT OF A MIRACLE, the clinical laboratory industry is less than three weeks from the single most financially-disruptive event of the past 30 years. On Jan. 1, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service…
Paths of Hospital Labs, Independent Labs Diverge
CEO SUMMARY: With each passing year, the primary role of hospital and health system labs evolves in a different direction than that of independent lab companies. This trend is a response to the creation of integrated delivery networks paid on value and how they are scored on their ability…
Value-based healthcare launches new conflicting interests for hospital labs, independents
This is an excerpt from a 2,400-word article in the Nov. 20, 2017 issue of THE DARK REPORT. The complete article is available for a limited time to all readers, and available at all times to paid members of the Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: Her…
Lab Scheme Recruits Hospitals To Bill as In-Network Providers
CEO SUMMARY: Management companies using a new generation of potentially fraudulent schemes are targeting hospitals and health systems for arrangements that use questionable means to increase lab test volume and revenue. The management companies often use the term “hospital outpatient de…
New source of lab test abuse surfaces in the form of HOPDs and MSOs
This is an excerpt from a 2,350-word article in the Oct. 30, 2017 issue of THE DARK REPORT. The complete article is available for a limited time to all readers, and available at all times to paid members of the Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: …
Medicare Demands Force PGx Lab into Bankruptcy
CEO SUMMARY: It’s becoming a familiar story. In Houston, a pharmacogenomics lab company started strong in 2011, then payments dropped sharply when Medicare issued restrictive new guidelines for PGx testing. Next, the Medicare administrative contractor handling the claims of CompanionDx …
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