Pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine: consumer perspectives, lessons learned in Australia and beyond
Date
2012
Authors
Anderson, C.
Ward, H.
Corkindale, D.
Ward, M.
Sorich, M.
McKinnon, R.
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Citation
Current Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine, 2012; 10(2):170-177
Statement of Responsibility
Claire Anderson, Helena Ward, David Corkindale, Michael B. Ward, Michael J. Sorich and Ross A. McKinnon
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Abstract
A decade after Francis Collins, then Director of the Human Genome Project, stated that: “Genetic prediction of individual risks of disease and responsiveness to drugs will reach the medical mainstream in the next decade or so” the uptake of therapeutic strategies informed by pharmacogenomic tests, often termed personalised medicine, has been limited. Several recent developments have been suggested as potential accelerating factors for the introduction of personalised medicine including the advent of commercially oriented pharmacogenomic testing and direct to consumer genetic testing. The advent of such testing has led to pharmacogenomic information becoming a commodity rather than simply medical information. Given this increasingly complex environment, the interpretation of pharmacogenomic testing has considerable implications for both health professionals and consumers. This paper asserts that both ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors play a role for bringing pharmacogenomics tests to the clinic and public health practice. While scientists tended to concentrate on the ‘push’ factors, there has been relatively little discussion on the ‘pull’ factors such as consumer and enduser perspectives, let alone in developing countries and the Asia-Pacific region. This paper focuses on studies of consumer views concerning pharmacogenomics and discusses the implications of these views for health professionals including recent lessons learned in Australia and globally. Our review reflects a relative paucity of studies, a need for more widespread public consultation and education. It also highlights the need for a focus on educational strategies, possibly involving an increased role of pharmacists given their drug focus.
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