Yesterday, MedImpact announced the launch of its new pharmacogenomics solution that reviews every prescribed drug for a patient against their genetic profile. MedImpact is the first pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) in the US to alert prescribers based on their genetic profile.
The PGx program is an industry-first solution that will protect patients from being prescribed ineffective or harmful drugs, which in turn reduces their risk of adverse events, improves their health and reduces waste.
Currently, the industry has struggled to implement pharmacogenomics to deliver actionable results to prescribers. Most PGx programs test how an individual will respond to a single therapy at any time, whereas the MedImpact solution screens for genetic interactions with more than 240 commonly prescribed medications and notifies prescribers when a potential gene-drug interaction exists.
The program was launched after a year-long pilot, where 65% of prescribers altered dosage or drug choices after being notified of a drug-gene interaction. Dale Brown, the President of MedImpact Healthcare Systems, stated that with the rising drug costs, personalised solutions are the future for sustainable healthcare in the US.
