“Prior to instituting a pharmacogenomics program, we had over 100 hospital days each year due to DPYD deficiencies. Patients who came in with severe toxicities from 5-FU chemotherapy.
Today we have virtually none.”
– Marc Matrana, MD, MSc, FACP, System Director of Precision Medicine, Oncologist, Ochsner Health
Clinical Utility: Patient Safety with PGx
“The only way to know if a patient was DPYD deficient without this test, would be to give them a full dose of 5-FU and wait for the devastating side effects to manifest themselves.”
– Marc Matrana, MD, MSc, FACP, System Director of Precision Medicine, Oncologist, Ochsner Health
How to Launch your PGx Program
“If you’re interested in a bringing a pharmacogneomic service to your organization – don’t be scared. Don’t be intimidated by the terminology and the abbreviations. It’s absolutely feasible with the right partner and the PGx community to learn those best practices and reach out and learn from each other.“
– Catherine Oliver, PharmD, BCPS, DPLA, CPGx, System Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services, Ochsner Health
EHR Integration and Clinical Decision Support
“Clinical decision support is critical in applying pharmacogenomic data at the bedside, into routine clinical care. Those results are valid for the rest of the patient’s life, and so they have to be easily accessible.”
– Catherine Oliver, PharmD, BCPS, DPLA, CPGx, System Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services, Ochsner Health
The Role of the Clinical Pharmacist
“Pharmacy plays with everyone. Pharmacy supports physicians. Pharmacy supports nursing. We support medication safety. We support quality, and we are involved in all aspects of medicine where medications are used.”
– Catherine Oliver, PharmD, BCPS, DPLA, CPGx, System Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services, Ochsner Health