“Pharmacogenomic testing” is a phrase you will be seeing and hearing in the near future.
As MedlinePlus.gov explains: “Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genes affect a person’s response to drugs. This field combines pharmacology (the science of drugs) and genomics (the study of genes and their functions) to develop effective, safe medications that can be prescribed based on a person’s genetic makeup.”
Because this field involves drugs, pharmacists closely follow discoveries of genetic differences that can predict whether a medication will be effective for a specific person and which dose will prevent adverse effects.
The ethics of pharmacogenomic testing in community pharmacy is a topic all pharmacists are monitoring because the data could lead to unwanted identification.
Research status
Researchers have made great headway; such respected institutions as the Mayo Clinics support research and clinical initiatives to bring pharmacogenomic testing into clinical practice.
However, many challenges remain. Don’t hesitate to talk with your pharmacist if you have questions or concerns about pharmacogenomic testing.
Among the challenges, according to the National Institutes for Health:
“Open consent versus informed consent.
“Very-large-scale patient studies will be needed to detect and replicate drug responses and side effects beyond associations with drug-metabolizing enzymes…
“The data itself could lead to unwanted identification.”
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