GREENSBORO, N.C. — Doctors say a new tool at Cone Health gives people more confidence that the drugs prescribed to them work as well as their doctors' hope.
Ben Patel is the Chief Information Officer for Cone Health. He said Cone Health uses a program called 'ActX pharmacogenomic testing' which uses a person's genetic makeup to determine how well a drug works.
“Everything that we're doing is truly personalizing the medicine and health for a person for an individual patient based on your genetic makeup, based on your lifestyle based on what's call the whole-person care," Patel said.
Patel said not everyone reacts the same way to a prescription drug and an individual's DNA may mean that a drug doesn't work very well, doesn't work at all, or creates an unwanted reaction.
By using a patient's DNA sample, doctors will be able to determine a medication’s effectiveness or potential adverse reactions.
“We were looking for a tool that will provide the decision support to our primary care physicians and other specialists who are not experts in genetics and to be able to provide that tool so we can help guide them to have the right medication for the patient, so that the efficacy, the safety, the cost and all of that will improve overall,” Patel said.
The DNA sample can be done by collecting saliva at home or in a clinic or by taking a blood sample. Patel said a conversation between a patient and their provider will determine if this type of testing may help. He said the exact cost of the test depends on the patient's insurance plan.