Pharmacogenomics (PGx)

Will this drug work for me?

Depending on your genetic makeup, some drugs may work more 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.

Pharmacogenomics uses information about a person’s genetic makeup to choose medications and medication doses that are likely to work best for that person. Until recently, drugs have been developed with the idea that each drug works generally the same in everybody. However, genomic research has changed the one size fits all approach.

Pharmacogenomics is personalized medicine and the future of patient care

Personalized medicine is the tailoring of medical treatment to the individual characteristics of each patient. This approach relies on scientific breakthroughs in our understanding of how a person’s unique molecular and genetic profile makes them susceptible to certain diseases.

Information about your genetic makeup can assist your doctor in prescribing medicines that are most likely to work for you. This helps your doctor avoid the trial-and-error approach of trying various medications unlikely to work for you until finding the right one.

This test may also help your physician make critical adjustments to the dosages of certain medications, as well as avoid prescribing combinations of medications that may cause you to experience an adverse drug reaction.