This test can eliminate the need for “trial and error” in your medication regimen and can help you avoid experiencing unwanted side effects. It can save you money on unnecessary or ineffective medications. Perhaps most importantly, it can save you a trip to the ER for an adverse reaction or in rare cases, even save your life.

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PGx testing from Home Genetics is easy and requires only a saliva sample. A test kit and easy-to-follow sample collection instructions are sent directly to your home. After the sample is taken, you simply drop it in the mail. Results are available and posted in our physician/patient portal within 7 to 10 days of our receipt of the sample.

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The American Medical Association advises physicians to become familiar with genetic variations that may affect their patients’ drug metabolism.

How It Works

Cytochrome P450 enzymes are responsible for approximately 70% of drug metabolism in the human body. Genetic variations can impact the function of these enzymes and therefore your ability to metabolize a drug.

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PGx testing will identify you as belonging to one of six categories:

• Poor Metabolizer

• Reduced Intermediate Metabolizer

• Intermediate Metabolizer

• Normal (Extensive) Metabolizer

• Rapid Metabolizer

• Ultra-Rapid Metabolizer

Rapid metabolizers flush medication from their bodies so quickly that they do not receive the benefit from prescribed medication. On the other hand, poor metabolizers could be harmed from even a normal dose of the same medication.

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Once your category is identified, it can be correlated with dosing instructions. If a particular medication is not recommended for a category, an alternative medication will be advised by your doctor. Pharmacogenomic information is now listed in the package labeling of more than 250 of the most commonly prescribed medications, and the number continues to grow. In addition to prescription medications, PGx testing can apply to over-the-counter medications, supplements and more.