Want safer prescribing? Provide doctors with a plan for helping patients in pain

Physicians who are notified that a patient has died of a drug overdose are more judicious in issuing controlled substances if the notification includes a plan for what to do during subsequent patient visits, according to a study published today in Nature Communications. Compared to a letter with demonstrated effectiveness at improving prescribing safety, physicians who received notifications with additional planning guidance reduced […]

Pharmacogenomics and personalised medicine in practice

Pharmacogenomics and personalised medicine are increasingly becoming a part of mainstream healthcare and it is an area where pharmacists have a major part to play. In this series of short videos, Raliat Onatade, Chief Pharmacist for North Thames Genomic Medicines Service Alliance, describes what has already been done and the opportunities and challenges for further development. The added value of […]

The challenges of developing pharmacogenomic services

Recent research has demonstrated the value of pharmacogenomics-guided prescribing but this is a far cry from the implementation of routine services. Dr Raliate Onatade Chief Pharmacist for North Thames Genomics Medicine Service Alliance, explains what is required and the challenges that need to be addressed. [embedded content] The PREPARE (PREemptive Pharmacogenomic Testing for Preventing Adverse Drug Reactions) study assessed the […]

How does pharmacogenomics work in day-to-day practice?

A number of examples show how pharmacogenetic testing is being integrated into day-to-day practice and helping to improve the safe and effective use of medicines, Raliat Onatade, Chief Pharmacist for North Thames Genomics Medicine Service Alliance, explains. [embedded content] Mitochondrial mutation The mitochondrial mutation m.1555A>G is often associated with maternally-transmitted deafness. People who carry this mutation are more likely to […]

The added value of pharmacogenomics to prescribing

Raliat Onatade, Chief Pharmacist for North Thames Genomic Medicines Service Alliance, recently gave the opening keynote address at the EAHP Congress in Lisbon (March 2023) on the subject of pharmacogenomics and personalised medicine. IMI spoke to her to find out more about the topic and the opportunities that it offers to hospital pharmacists in clinical practice. [embedded content] Dr Onatade’s […]

Overdose deaths involving buprenorphine did not proportionally increase with new flexibilities in prescribing

The proportion of opioid overdose deaths involving buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, did not increase in the months after prescribing flexibilities were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. These data provide evidence that may help to inform buprenorphine prescribing policies. Published today in JAMA Network Open, this study was a collaborative effort […]