THE Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) has introduced a new guide to help health professionals understand when they should consider pharmacogenomics (PGx) testing for 35 medications commonly used in Australia.
The online document was created to address a lack of standardised guidelines for PGx testing in Australia and is now live on the RCPA website.
The guide was the result of a project conducted with several associations, including the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.
The country sees around 250,00 hospital admissions annually as a direct result of medication-related problems - with two-thirds of these potentially preventable - draining the health care system of $1.4 billion per year.
PGx testing, which analyses how a person's genes influence their response to medications, offers the potential to personalise treatment and improve therapeutic outcomes.
However, a lack of consistent guidelines around when PGx testing should be performed has long been a barrier in clinical practice.
Thus, RCPA kicked off the PGx project in 2022, enlisting a multidisciplinary advisory group which included experts in pathology, pharmacology, and prescribing practice, to carefully review international and Australian guidelines, approved product labels, and prescribing guidance to develop the nation-wide indications for PGx testing.
According to A. Prof Luke Hesson, who co-chairs the RCPA's PGx Advisory Group, the project has succesfully produced an invaluable resource for health professionals.
"PGx is growing as a field and there are now many medications with prescribing guidance based on the results of PGx testing," he said.
"This RCPA resource will help doctors to identify when to consider PGx testing and which genes to test.
"By using PGx testing, we can provide patients with the correct choice and dose of medication."
He also pointed out a need for Medicare rebates for PGx tests in Australia, "given that some of these tests are important for identifying patients at serious risk of toxicity".
As part of the project, the RCPA has submitted two funding request applications to the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC), with decisions expected in 2025. JM
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