The inception of gene: drug related interactions has driven the medication industry into an arena of not only personalized care but an era that can reform healthcare outcomes and deliver a more manageable roadmap to care.
The Precision Perioperative Medication Risk Solution (PPMRS) looks at a number of known genetic pathways related to surgical medication, their appropriateness based on risk and genetics, and mutations that can cause complications during and after surgery. The goal of every test is to determine a patient’s risk for adverse drug events to these medications, risk for malignant hypothermia, and ability to metabolize opioids to reduce the potential risk for misuse of prescribed opioids so to prevent unnecessary prescribing. The knowledge contained within our evidence-based system can help anesthesiologists to deliver an appropriate medication plan for each patient to predict and prevent complications before and during. Our solution goes a step further to allow the patient’s practitioners access to the genetic interpretations for any medication the patient may be on now of in the future to ensure healthier and less risky outcomes.
Our Test
Preoperative PGx tests provide a benefit where they yield additional information that cannot be obtained from a patient history and physical examination alone. Precision’s test evaluates the genes that interact with the drugs most commonly used during surgery. The test results help to assess the risk to the patient and inform discussions about the risks of existing therapies and benefits of using alternative options for surgery. Additionally, the test will help to predict postoperative complications that may arise due to existing conditions and medications the patient is on and establish a baseline measurement for continued care.
The life-threatening clinical syndrome of hypermetabolism involving the skeletal muscle known as malignant hyperthermia occurs in 1 in 5,000 to 50,000 instances in which people are given anesthetic gases. Susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia is probably more frequent, because many people with an increased risk of this condition are never exposed to drugs that trigger a reaction.
Precision’s genetic test looks at 3 genes that can render an individual’s classification of MH as pathogenic and therefore inform the anesthesiologist of the susceptibility so to prescribe anesthetics appropriately on an individual basis.
Problem/Challenges
While doctor-patient communication is a key determinant in adherence to many care plans, the importance of surgeon-patient communication is amplified by the invasiveness, risk, and complexity of surgical procedures. There is not only the procedure itself to consider, but a whole host of preoperative medication considerations, postoperative instructions, and medications to manage. Too often surgical patients suffer from adverse events and they often end up back in the hospital or in poor recovery due to the existing one-size-fits-all medication prescribing habits.
What Our Solution Provides
Our approach takes the guesswork out of how the patient will reach to surgical meds, whether they will suffer an MH episode and if the right medication choice is an opioid. Medically necessary procedures are more popular than ever before due to the implementation of new non- or minimally-invasive techniques and tools allowing surgical procedures and patients recovery to be quicker than normal. As a medical professional, you understand the importance of knowledge and practiced skill when it comes to obtaining the most effective results. So, you owe it to yourself and your future patients to hone your surgical care plan.
Precision Genetics has developed an advanced commercial perioperative risk-assessment tool with the objective of implementing:
- pre-operative medication optimization,
- intra-operative risk assessment and management, and
- post-operative complication prediction and patient handoff.
Precision Genetics has developed a proprietary panel of peer-reviewed pharmacogenetics markers to accomplish these goals. Building upon a foundation of clinically relevant pharmacogenomic variants, we also include markers that identify the risk of malignant hyperthermia and opioid usefulness and dependency. Additionally, as an increasing number of surgeries are moving through inpatient and outpatient settings, a risk-stratification tool based on the prediction of post-operative complications plays a role in deciding the best treatment setting for individuals.
How Precision is Different
Peri-operative Care
- A single buccal sample can cover all 3 tests: Peri-operative, MH and opioid appropriateness
- Non-invasive buccal sample is needed for MH test
- Pharmacy consult available to anesthesiologists
- Pharmacy consult with patient’s physician for post-operative care management
- DST for use at any time for better medication selection
Other Tests
- Multiple samples need to be taken from a patient to result all 3 tests
- MH is an invasive biopsy of muscle tissue requiring an additional recovery period
- Results are not accompanied by a pharmacist’s review
- Results likely are not provided to patient’s physician for post-surgical care
- No availability of a DST for assessing alternative, more appropriate medications
Workflow
Sample Report
Have Questions About Us?
Our personalized approach to what we do extends beyond our genetics lab. We, the team, are committed to providing patients, providers, and other labs the quality services and results we put our name behind.
