A Nationwide Survey of Pharmacists’ Perception of Pharmacogenetics in the Context of a Clinical Decision Support System Containing Pharmacogenetics Dosing Recommendations

Abstract

Dutch pharmacists are very positive toward PGx. However, test adoption is low and additional training is warranted.

Assessing the Implementation of Pharmacogenomic Panel-Testing in Primary Care in the Netherlands Utilizing a Theoretical Framework

“…While current literature indicates that physicians self-report deficits in PGx knowledge [24,25], this knowledge did improve after having experience with PGx [54]. Similarly, pharmacists in the general population report high PGx awareness, but low PGx knowledge and adoption [17]. On the other hand, in our study, PGx knowledge was self-perceived as sufficient, potentially due to hands-on experience with PGx.…”

“…Firstly, our findings may be prone to selection bias, since this is a study among early-adopting pharmacists who are voluntarily participating in a PGx implementation study, and are therefore more likely to believe in PGx compared to the general pharmacist population. However, a nationwide survey of pharmacists' perception of PGx showed that 99.7% of the pharmacists believed in the concept of PGx, however, only 14.1% felt adequately knowledgeable [17]. Therefore, our sample may have a similar belief, but higher self-reported PGx knowledge than the general pharmacist population.…”

“…(P13:32) Request PGx test "Now and then GPs call me to ask whether requesting a PGx test for particular patients is useful." (P1: 17) "The GPs are just really busy, so I think they appreciate that we take PGx upon us." (P12:12) "I notice that the GPs really want the [PGx] information but they think it is fine if we request the tests.…”

“…Over a decade ago, we analysed the implementation barriers preventing the wide-spread adoption of PGx testing to guide dose and drug selection [7]. Since then, many barriers have been overcome, including the generation of evidence supporting the clinical utility of single gene-drug interactions [8][9][10][11], the development of clinical guidelines based on systematic review of literature [12][13][14], the selection of clinically relevant PGx tests [15] and the stimulation of healthcare professional's (HCP) belief in PGx guided prescribing [16,17].…”

A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey of Pharmacy Students on Pharmacogenetic Testing in The Netherlands

“…Previous studies have shown that physicians and pharmacists in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands have high expectations of PGx to improve the efficacy and safety of drugs. However, despite the enthusiasm of physicians and pharmacists towards PGx, a knowledge gap on this subject appears to be present (6)(7)(8). This knowledge gap potentially hinders the adoption of PGx into clinical care and may be the consequence of a lack of education on PGx in their curriculum (8).…”