The future of personalized medicine is on the horizon, and pharmacogenetic testing may be the key that unlocks better health outcomes for everyone. The tests analyze your genetic markers to determine if you’re likely to experience adverse side effects from certain medications. The test may also help doctors find new drugs or dosage regimens that work better with your genetic makeup. Here are five ways pharmacogenetics testing may help you get better results from your medication—without experiencing adverse side effects.
1. It Helps Predict Which Medications Will Work Best for You
The most exciting benefit of pharmacogenetic testing is that it helps to predict which medications will work best for you. Pharmacogenomics is becoming increasingly popular in healthcare as a tool to help improve patient treatment outcomes. The technology can use a simple blood test to identify genetic variants associated with how your body metabolizes certain drugs. With this information, your doctor can determine which medications are most likely to be effective and have fewer side effects.
Your genetic profile can tell you if you’re likely to respond well or poorly to certain medications, allowing your doctor to tailor your treatment plan accordingly. That means that you’ll be less likely to experience adverse reactions and will likely receive more effective treatment than if you received a prescription for a medication based on averages. That way, it helps you improve your overall health outcomes and quality of life.
2. Reduce the Frequency of Doctor Visits and Tests
Pharmacogenetic testing may help you reduce the frequency of doctor visits and tests. The testing enhances efficiency by providing doctors in-depth understanding of a patient’s genetic profile and specific responses to various medications. Thus, the information can help to determine the right combination of drugs and dosages to meet the patient’s needs and avoid more doctor visits and tests.
Thus, physicians can more accurately target the best drugs for their patients and reduce the time and money spent on additional doctor visits and tests. Pharmacogenetic testing could revolutionize how health practitioners prescribe medicine and help patients achieve better health outcomes by eliminating the need for trial-and-error drug selection methods and additional doctor visits and tests.
3. It Helps You Avoid potentially Harmful Drugs
Pharmacogenetic testing is a revolutionary way of evaluating a person’s response to medications. Through this testing, a doctor can more accurately predict how an individual will respond to certain medications, including the risk of potential side effects. The knowledge can be especially helpful in avoiding potentially harmful drugs.
By understanding an individual’s genetic makeup and potential risk factors for specific side effects, doctors can determine if certain drugs will be safe. For example, some medications can cause serious side effects for certain people due to the genetic makeup of their bodies. Pharmacogenetic testing can help identify these individuals to avoid taking those drugs and help patients achieve better health outcomes.
4. It Gives Peace of Mind Knowing You are on the Right Medication Regimen
Finding the proper medication and dosage to improve your health can be a difficult and time-consuming process. Pharmacogenetic testing offers an innovative approach to help you get on the right track and optimize your health outcomes. This type of testing uses genetic information to assess how your body may interact with certain medications and make personalized medication recommendations for you.
The technology helps enhance patient safety by tailoring treatment to suit each person’s unique genetic profile, reducing the risk of side effects, adverse drug reactions, and hospitalizations from inappropriate medication use. Such protection will give patients peace of mind knowing they are on the proper medication regimen. Whether it is a disease diagnosis or just picking out prescription drugs, pharmacogenetics can help make these decisions.
Conclusion
While genetics only make up about 10% of what causes disease in our bodies, it plays a significant role in helping us understand our specific risks for conditions such as heart disease, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. With improved access to genetic information through pharmacogenetic testing, healthcare providers will have a much better chance at customizing treatments to each person’s unique needs.
