GLEN ALLEN, Va., March 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — With limited or no extracurricular activities for long periods of time, isolation and school closures in the past two years, American teens and young adults are being diagnosed with an unprecedented number of mental health illnesses. both before and between the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s truly a remarkable tool that gives confidence that the right medication has been selected the first time”
Choosing the right medication to treat these conditions can be difficult, since each person’s body and genetic make-up are different. Because the process of finding the right medication can be painful, frustrating, and time-consuming, clinicians need tools to help them determine which medications and dosages are best for treating psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD, as well as others medical conditions. Finding the right drug can also be dangerous, as nearly five percent of deaths in the US.. due to drug toxicity.
GENETWORx Labs identified this gap in health care services in 2013 and began to close that gap with pharmacogenetic tests or PGx that helps doctors find the right drugs and the right dose the first time based on the patient’s DNA.
Also called “personalized medicine,” the PGx test is now in the spotlight with a bill recently introduced in the US House of Representatives. Right drug, right dosage, law now which seeks to accelerate the education and use of pharmacogenetic testing (PGx) to help prevent adverse drug reactions and facilitate the integration of genomic information related to drug response in patient care.
“Without knowing which drug will be the optimal choice for a given patient, it can be trial and error for a doctor: choosing a drug based on past experience or drug prescription information in the hope that the patient’s body will respond.” effectively. Personalized medicine using the PGx test in conjunction with other diagnostic tools takes much of the guesswork out of drug efficacy,” said Dr. Stacey BlankenshipPharmD. of GENETWORx Laboratories.
According to Dr. Blankenship, knowing a person’s genetic makeup through PGx testing helps identify drugs that the body can break down and metabolize. The metabolism of a drug can have important consequences on its therapeutic effect or on its toxicity. For example, if the body metabolizes the drug too quickly or too slowly for it to be effective,” she said.
According to a recent National Institutes of Health Studypharmacogenetic testing “has the potential to decrease morbidity, decrease treatment-emergent side effects, improve treatment response, decrease inpatient admissions and readmissions due to lack of efficacy or side effects, and the cost of care for the patient and his family.
The PGx test is non-invasive using a simple swab from the patient’s cheek. It can be used by any patient taking medications for psychiatric and medical conditions. Physicians are using GENETWORx PGx tests to inform their medication decisions for patients scheduled for surgery, geriatric patients taking multiple medications in assisted living facilities, and many other medical conditions, as well as behavioral health diagnoses. In addition, Medicare may cover testing for many conditions, as may many private insurers.
“It really is a remarkable tool that gives the provider and the patient additional confidence that the right medication was selected the first time,” said Blankenship.
For more information about PGx testing, ask your doctor. Providers or patients can also click here or call 855-488-2618.
GENETWORx is a fully integrated CAP-accredited laboratory that is certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) for high-complexity molecular testing. The company is a full molecular and clinical diagnostic laboratory with a broad menu of tests including genetic and infectious disease testing. GENETWORx offers PCR and antigen COVID-19 tests for organizations and individuals and has performed more than 8.5 million COVID-19 tests since the pandemic began with response times among the lowest in the nation. The lab also offers an all-in-one combination influenza/COVID-19/RSV testing, a salivary PCR test, and an antibody test. The GENETWORx COVID-19 self-test is also available through try now and done locations in New York, Virginia, Phoenix, Boston and Philadelphia. GENETWORx provides a full range of pathogen testing to health facilities nationwide. please visit genetworx.com for more information and follow us on linked in.
For media interviews, contact: Terri C Malenfant on [email protected].
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