CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS
Exploring the Future of Health: Pharmacogenomic FAQs Retrogen - Simplified Answers for Informed Wellness
Pharmacogenetic testing is a new tool in medicine involving the testing of certain genes to determine how any given individual will respond to specific medications. It has demonstrated that different individuals respond differently to prescription medications and that these differences are genetically determined. For instance, drugs are metabolized slowly in individuals carrying genetic polymorphisms that reduce enzyme activity, and these individuals are at an increased risk for adverse drug reactions or therapeutic failure. Alternatively, a genetic polymorphism that increases metabolism could result in ineffective drug treatment.
The science of pharmacogenetics is both well established and rapidly changing. That specific genes influence how an individual reacts to medications is not in doubt. However, the genetic basis for drug efficacy and side effects is better understood with some medications than with others. For certain medical conditions, drug choices and specific dosages can be prescribed, but for others, therapeutic recommendations are not as well understood. Pharmacogenomics holds enormous promise to reduce medical costs and increase the effectiveness of many drugs in the future.
Our team follows peer-reviewed and published guidelines developed by pharmacogenetic expert groups. Expert groups perform systematic assessments of the scientific findings related to gene-drug pairs and assign a level of evidence score to every finding. The overall evidence is then analyzed and a consensus decision is made on whether or not a specific action is required for a given medication-gene pair.
Until recently, drugs have been developed with the idea that each drug works pretty much the same in everybody. But genomic research has changed that “one-size-fits-all” approach and opened the door to more personalized approaches of using and developing drugs. Depending on your genetic makeup, some drugs may work more or less effectively for you than they do in other people. Likewise, some drugs may produce more or fewer side effects in you than in someone else. Knowledge of an individual’s genetic background before beginning treatment could assist in prescribing the appropriate drug at a safe dosage. This greatly decreases the need for trial and error dosing and can reduce adverse drug reactions substantially.
Discuss prior adverse and/or inadequate effects of medications with your physician. What has or has not worked well in the past? Are you sensitive to any medication, or do you need higher than normal doses?
The effect genetic variations have on specific medications is well documented for some drugs and not well documented for others. In general, drugs with a very narrow effective dosing range have been researched, while drugs with a wide effective range have not.
An insured patient will be billed the deductible or co-pay amount based on their insurance policy. If insurance is not available or applicable, a patient will be billed as a cash patient.
Yes, it counts towards a deductible if the test is determined to be medically necessary. You will receive an invoice stating your co-pay and deductible.
As long as Medicare is the patient’s primary insurance and the test is deemed medically necessary, it is currently covered by Medicare with no co-pay or deductible. Commercial insurance as primary or Medicare as secondary insurance may have co-pays and deductibles based on each individual’s insurance policy.
In 2008, Congress passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA prohibits health insurance companies from denying coverage or charging higher premiums to an individual based solely on genetic information. GINA also prohibits employers from using your genetic information when making hiring, firing, job placement, or promotion decisions.
