There’s a ton of potential quality and financial return in streamlining the mental healthcare process, but we need to get more precise to do so.
Category: Genetic Testing
Pharmacogenomics: What it is and how it can improve mental health treatment
Many people find a medication plan that works for them by testing out different medications or dosages, each varying in effectiveness and possibly resulting in negative side effects. This process can be time-consuming and often frustrating. In recent years, many healthcare providers have begun using genetic testing to improve the process of prescribing medication.
How To Take a Successful Pharmacogenomic Test
Prairie’s mission is to make finding comprehensive mental health care—including a personalized medication regimen—as simple as possible. One of the ways we do this is by offering an easy-to-take genetic test to all our members.
How to Make Sense of Your Pharmacogenomic Test Results
After your saliva sample has been analyzed, your doctor receives a report breaking down your test results. Here are some things you should know about what they’ll see, and how it will pertain to you:
The Genes Examined in Prairie’s Genetic Tests
There are a variety of reasons to undergo genetic testing: screening for hereditary conditions, discovering ancestry, and — in Prairie’s case — providing information about how your body processes mental health medications.
Why We Include Pharmacogenomic Testing
One of the issues in psychiatry today is the lack of personalization. Physicians have historically used a “one size fits all” approach to prescribing medications, even though we know that women and minorities do not process antidepressants the same way as white men.