Health care for patients with chronic conditions is complex. Because chronically ill patients tend to have a higher risk of multimorbidity, multiple drug use is common. Polypharmacy (the use of five or more medications)  increases the risk of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), hospitalization and mortality. Genetic factors may also affect response to drugs, including efficacy and toxicity.

When prescribed medications don’t work as expected for your patient, it can be difficult to determine the exact cause. Polypharmacy and Pharmacogenetic (PGx) Testing can help take the trial and error out of prescribing and treatment decisions.

Polypharmacy Testing is a simple, cost-effective urine test that targets a wide range of medications, including psychiatric, cardiac, antidiabetic and over-the-counter (OTC), to help providers identify nonadherence, contraindications and potentially dangerous drug-drug interactions. 

If medication failure can’t be explained by nonadherence, contraindications or drug-drug interactions, Pharmacogenetic (PGx) Testing is an ideal testing option to help identify potential genetic factors that may be affecting drug efficacy. With just a simple cheek swab, the test checks for variants in 60 genes and provides medication guidance on 18 drug classes applicable to current and future prescriptions.