Pharmacy and Wellness Review
Article Title
Abstract
Incorporation of pharmacogenomic data into Medication Therapy Management (MTM) allows pharmacists to optimize treatment regimens for patients leading to better overall outcomes. Utilizing pharmacogenomics makes it easier for health care professionals to initiate medication regimens with reduced adverse reactions, improves outcomes due to specialized dosing and therapies and allows the treatment process to be as cost-effective as possible for the patient. Pharmacists have an opportunity to educate the rest of the health care team on issues such as: which ethnicities possess higher odds of carrying certain genetic variants, the most common or most relevant medications that can have variable effects and medications that have significant severe adverse effects or hypersensitivities related to specific genetic markers. Using specific examples where medications possess variable efficacy and safety, due to differences in genetics among the patient population, helps to explain why this is such an important topic. Medications discussed in the article include carvedilol (Coreg®), dabigatran (Pradaxa®), methadone (Dolophine®), clopidogrel (Plavix®), abacavir (Ziagen®), and carbamazepine (Tegretol®). These examples emphasize why pharmacogenomic education and testing is not only relevant, but extremely important, for patients taking certain drugs. Pharmacists are in a prime position to educate other health care professionals about new, clinically relevant, pharmacogenomic findings. With knowledge of pharmacogenomics, pharmacists have the opportunity to apply population and specific individual genetic data into everyday practice, and thus can improve the efficacy and safety while being more cost-efficient.
Included in
Medical Genetics Commons, Medical Pharmacology Commons, Other Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons