Pharmacogenetics (PGx) 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.Many drugs currently available are “one size fits all,” but they don’t work the same way for everyone. It can be difficult to predict who will benefit from a medication, who will not respond at all, and who will experience negative side effects (called adverse drug reactions). 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 and clinicians are learning how inherited differences in genes affect the body’s response to medications. These genetic differences are being used to predict whether a medication will be effective for a particular person and to help prevent adverse drug reactions.
The PGx program at Specialty Screening Labs, LLC is proud to partner with Coriell Life Sciences to bring providers and patients a report dedicated to personalized medicine. Our overall health is determined by many factors (lifestyle, race, age, gender, environment, and genetics). Our GeneDose report takes all of these factors into consideration to provide a comprehensive and personal assessment of your patient’s health. Reports now offer guidance on drug-drug interactions, adverse drug reactions, and appropriate dosing. The goal of this all-inclusive report is to improve patient compliance and patient outcome by reducing unnecessary side effects, associated risks, and costs related to their current drug regimen.
Specialty Screening Labs recognizes that a patient’s health factors may change over time. Therefore, our report will give providers access to GeneDose Live, an interactive tool for providers. The GeneDose LIVE site allows providers to update patient lifestyle factors, model the use of alternative medications in the patient’s drug regimen, and create an updated report showing these changes.
Specialty Screening Labs also recognizes that it can be difficult to keep patients engaged in the conversation of their health. Therefore, our report will also give patients access to SafeTRx, an interactive tool for patients. The SafeTRx site allows patients to survey their health and lifestyle choices, learn more about pharmacogenomic testing options, and store their test results in the secured site. Specialty Screening Labs is excited to share these new tools to empower our providers through simplified genomics.