Pharmacists as Pharmacogenomic Counselors | PGX for Pharmacists

01/10/22 • 31 min

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On this episode, Dr. Gillian Bell, a Doctor of Clinical Pharmacy, shares her path from pharmacy school to her non-traditional PharmD job as Pharmacogenomics Lead, Genome Medical. On This Episode We Discuss: • Gillian’s education (Brief) • Gillian’s PharmD work experience prior to PGx (Brief) Residency • Gillian’s PGx work experience prior to Genome Medical (Brief) Mission Hospital • Brief description of Genome Medical, its mission, its services, its clients • Gillian’s roles and responsibilities as the Pharmacogenomics Lead at Genome Medical • What does a typical day at Genome Medical look like for its pharmacists? How do the pharmacists interact with the genetic counselors? • “Genetic Counseling” or “PGx Inclusive Medication Therapy Management’ do the pharmacists provide one or the other or both? Neither? To whom are the services provided? Providers and/or to patients? • Gillian’s advice to pharmacists who want to pursue a career in PGx

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Pharmacogenomics and Provider Status with Scott Knoer | PGX for Pharmacists

According to the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), community pharmacists are highly accessible health care professionals and 95% of Americans live within just 5 miles of a pharmacy. (https://ncpa.org/provider-status) And what APhA or American Pharmacist Association, the largest association of pharmacists in the US is doing is laser focusing on getting provider status for pharmacists. So why is that important when it comes to PGx as this is a PGx podcast? Pharmacists can order the PGx test when they see fit for their patients without the need of a clinician to sign that form. Scott Knoer, MS, PharmD, FASHP, became the 13th Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Pharmacists Association in June 2020, after serving for nine years as the Chief Pharmacy Officer at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Knoer is a passionate advocate for patients and the profession of pharmacy. He has successfully lobbied boards of pharmacy in Ohio and Minnesota to allow the advancement of pharmacy practice, and he has led initiatives that changed Ohio and federal law related to the elevation of pharmacy practice and reducing the impact of drug shortages. He received his BA in psychology from Creighton University and his PharmD from the University of Nebraska.

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Patient Impact of Limited Provider PGX Knowledge | PGX For Pharmacists

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, there are more than 50 Cytochrome P450 enzymes but there are just 6 of them that metabolize about 90% of the drugs. One of the most significant ones is the CYP2D6. In an article on healio written by Dr. Jai Patel, he talks about CYP2D6 metabolizing many of the SSRIs, SNRIs and TCAs that are the treatment options for depression. The clearance of TCA’s for example is 50-67% lowered in CYP2D6 poor metabolizers compared to normal. www.aafp.org/afp/2007/0801/p391.html Pharmacogenetic testing may improve outcomes for patients with depression (healio.com) Kristine Ashcraft is a molecular biologist by training and is the former CEO and founder of YouScript which was recently acquired by Invitae. She has worked in pharmacogenomics space since 2000 and was recently named one of the 25 leading voices in precision medicine. Kristine has authored multiple publications on both the clinical and economic benefits of PGx testing. She serves on the Steering Committee of STRIPE which is the FDA collaborative community for PGx. She has been interviewed by numerous media including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and NBC Nightly News and has spoken at American Society of Human Genetics, and numerous precision medicine conferences and now speaking at one of the top 20 genomics podcast in the globe, PGx for Pharmacist Podcast.