by brant bullard | May 19, 2015 | Partners
PGx Medical is an Oklahoma based business development and consulting company that focuses on:
- overall patient well being & quality of life
- efficiency in the facility
- reduction of healthcare costs
We focus on assisting physicians, managed care organizations, pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare entities in their efforts to make the best possible therapeutic decisions for patients through the implementation of Metabolic Validation testing.
Cost to Facility > $0
Value to profitability > Significant Value to resident > immeasurable
We are dedicated to building trust and loyalty from our customers by providing accurate and timely laboratory results while proactively offering superior service and the most innovative program in the industry.
Metabolic Validation (Pharmacogenomic Testing)
Identify patients via pharmacogenomic testing who do not normally/extensively metabolize psychiatric, anti-depressant, anxiety, anti-coagulants, pain or cardio meds extensively, or might be poor or Intermediate metabolizer and at a higher risk for potential pharma event. Subsequently, implement necessary drug regiment changes as results are reviewed.
Validate that current medication regiment is the “best” regiment based upon each residents’ pharmacogenomic testing results. Reduce trial and error medication costs and reduce number of patients on medications that can be genetically proven to provide no opportunity for therapy for each specific patient. Embrace Personalized medicine.
FDA Statistics on Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs)
by brant bullard | May 19, 2015 | News
Pharmacy Consultants Case Study on the Utilization of Metabilic Validation
Garrett Huxall, Pharm.D, CGP, FASCP
Executive Director, PharmCareOK
As a pharmacy consultant and nursing home owner, understanding medications and their side effects is critical to my patient care. I have been utilizing a metabolic validation program that allows me to recommend proper medication therapy more quickly and accurately. The tool from PGx Medical replaces the “trial and error” process consultants cannot afford in a nursing home setting.
I have countless success stories due to the metabolic validation report, however, what I am finding is the small changes make the biggest impact. I now adjust dosages based on the resident/patient’s metabolic report. Furthermore, I now select medications that can be properly metabolized, where in the past I would have just gone to the next drug and hoped for a better outcome.
Case Study #1 – [88 year old female Alzheimer patient that was on Aricept, Namenda and Zyprexa because she was frequently falling]. After getting the metabolic validation test report, we determined she needed a few med changes based upon her metabolic profile. There were certain mutations within her system that were not allowing the medication to provide therapy.
With the physician’s approval, we immediately transitioned her to a different drug, Geodon. She responded very well to Geodon and now, we have even been able to reduce her dosage of Geodon. She has not fallen since and is on a lower dosage of medication than she was prior to us using the metabolic profile results.
Previously, without the testing results to guide us, this change may have taken several different methods and a longer time frame to achieve results. It was very reassuring and validating to me that we were able to intervene with this resident on a much quicker basis and help her avoid falls, which is a benefit to the clinical team and the medical director.
In this case, the small change with guidance from the test results allowed for a rapid intervention that may have taken months. The small changes can have tremendous benefits to all parties involved. The test results came back in a matter of a day or two and we were able to save thousands of future Medicare dollars as a result of avoiding possible injuries due to her falls.
Educating the clinical team and medical directors at the facility on the value this tool provides is crucial, as it is 100% covered by Medicare. It’s important to reassure residents and family members that the medications they are taking are the most appropriate and able to provide proper therapy. A less medicated, cognizant, mobile resident allows for the home to be more efficient and profitable.
by brant bullard | Apr 7, 2015 | News
Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) continue to be prescribed and used as first-line treatment for the most vulnerable of older adults, despite evidence of poor out- comes from the use of PIMs in older adults.
Medication-related problems are common, costly, and often preventable in older adults and lead to poor outcomes. Avoiding the use of inappropriate and high-risk drugs is an important, simple, and effective strategy in reducing medication-related problems and adverse drug events in older adults.
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by brant bullard | Apr 6, 2015 | Metabolic Validation Program
The battle, known as polypharmacy, is estimated to cause the death of 100,000 older adults each year.
Polypharmacy may be defined as the number of medications (eg, using a large number of different medications prescribed by different providers), the necessity of the medications that are prescribed, or the complexity of a patient’s problems. Whatever the definition, polypharmacy is an important issue in elderly patients. Sometimes this issue cannot be helped, but many times polypharmacy occurs simply because healthcare providers fail to communicate proper patient recommendations to the patient’s primary care provider.
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by brant bullard | Apr 22, 2014 | Metabolic Validation Program
Validation
Who doesn’t want validation for the work they are doing? As a healthcare professional it is important to know that the medications you are prescribing your patients are working. If not, you begin the “trial & error” process. But by giving a patient a drug that doesn’t metabolize in their system, it could cause adverse reactions or just not metabolize so the patient never improves.
If you’re not 100% sure your patients are taking medications that are working, how can you make an informed decision?
Health care professionals go to work every day wanting to provide the highest quality, safest, most appropriate care for their patients. The bottom line is that patients should not go to a hospital or other health care setting with a fear that their health will not improve. Unfortunately, in the past there was no way of knowing for sure that a drug wasn’t working. A patient may try multiple drugs before they found one that worked. That isn’t the case any longer.
At PGx, we recognized a need for personalized medicine and we also understand that we are just touching the surface of what is yet to come.
Making More Informed Treatment Decisions for Your Patients
Not all patients respond appropriately to a standard, One Size Fits All dose. Pharmacogenetic testing provides a lifetime of protection against drug toxicity or lack of drug efficacy. This simple test will help you determine a patient’s drug sensitivity allowing you to provide better care.
Implementing the Program
The PGx Metabolic Validation Program allows a healthcare professional to gain insightful information via a simple buccal swab. The swab is then analyzed at the laboratory and a report is sent directly to the medical facility to be utilized when treating the patient. This once in a lifetime test will help physicians make informed decisions when treating patients to: reduce side effects, increase clinical response and gives health care physicians collaborative access to pinpoint appropriate medications for specific diagnoses.
We’ve made it easy to incorporate pharmacogenetics into your clinic, company, pharmacy or center. The ultimate goal for PGx Medical is to help you provide better healthcare and improve quality of life for your patients or residents.
If it costs your facility nothing, can yield life changing benefits, makes staff and consulting jobs easier and can be completed in less than a day, what is the downside and why would you not want this tool for your patients?
For more information on how you can implement this no cost program into your facility, email: info@pgxmed.com, call 405-509-5112 or go to www.pgxmed.com.
