Assessment of Patient Knowledge and Perceptions of Pharmacogenomics Before and After Using a Mock Results Patient Web Portal

Abstract

Our objective was to build a mock pharmacogenomic (PGx) patient portal and assess its ability to disseminate test results and information to patients. The YourPGx Portal delivered four sample PGx results (omeprazole, simvastatin, clopidogrel, and codeine). We hosted two study groups to assess patient knowledge and perceptions of PGx before and after accessing the portal. Ten PGx‐tested and 10 traditional care participants were included (average 61 years, 60% women, 50% African American, and 55% had a bachelor's/advanced degree). Participants scored significantly higher on the post‐test compared with the pre‐test, with no significant differences between baseline scores or score change between the groups. Patient perceptions also improved after accessing the portal—more patients wanted their providers to have access to test results, and more patients would encourage family/friends to get PGx testing. Patients would share their test results with their healthcare providers, spouse/partner, and family; none would share results with their friends or social media. Almost all patients (95%) said the portal was easy to use and 65% said it was easy to understand. In this pilot study, patients’ knowledge and perceptions of PGx improved after accessing the YourPGx Portal.

A Scoping Review of Attitudes and Experiences with Pharmacogenomic Testing among Patients and the General Public: Implications for Patient Counseling

“…Of these, 35 met eligibility criteria and were included in the analysis. An additional two articles were identified upon reference review of eligible articles and also included in the analysis, for a final total of 37 articles [ 1 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ]. Figure 1 summarizes the identification and selection process for inclusion.…”

Underrepresented patient views and perceptions of personalized medication treatment through pharmacogenomics

“…Few interventions exist that can simultaneously train patients to engage more fully in the healthcare process and give providers the skills needed to activate and promote patient engagement in the care dialogue 17 . These ideas illuminate the need for additional attention to developing racially and culturally sensitive tools to educate patients about genetic risks for suboptimal drug responses 27 , 28 .…”

“…Importantly, rather than utilizing survey measures to assess patient health literacy, we incorporated direct measures of educational status into the current study. The inclusion of direct measures assessing understanding of genetic test results is an area we are now exploring in other studies, before and after direct-to-patient delivery of pharmacogenomic test results 27 . Separately, though the absence of measures evaluating trust in providers/healthcare system among minority patients may be a limitation of some survey instruments, our survey instrument specifically measured trust, and our previous analyses of this cohort have reported that trust, defined as a patient’s belief that the provider had his or her best interest in mind when making clinical decisions, was generally high among our genotyped respondents 10 .…”

How to implement a pharmacogenetics service at your institution

“…HealthCare have adopted transparent coverage policies for pharmacogenetic testing. 54 Pharmacists within our outside of the program can verify coverage of pharmacogenetic testing with patients' payers and/or facilitate prior authorization prior to submitting a test for reimbursement. For example, Cleveland Clinic Health System partners with an external laboratory to provide prior authorization services.…”