WHY DOES AGHI ASK FOR THE PATIENT ’ S CURRENT MEDICATIONS AND FAMILY HISTORY ? AGHI uses information about current medications to better organize the pharmacogenetic result report . The result report calls attention to any results associated with medications that patients say they are taking currently . Family history information is collected so that disease risk results can be interpreted in light of that history and commented on by AGHI genetic counselors in the disease risk result report .
IS PHARMACOGENETIC TESTING USEFUL EVEN IF MY PATIENT IS NOT CURRENTLY TAKING PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS ? Yes . Pharmacogenetic information can be useful in choosing prescription medications that your patient may need in the future , and having the results in hand can help you make a medication recommendation more quickly in the future .
WHAT IS THE CHANCE MY PATIENT WILL HAVE A GENETIC DISEASE RISK IDENTIFIED BY THIS TEST ? Studies suggest that approximately 1-2 % of people in the general population harbor a harmful variant in a disease risk gene included on this test . The risk for a given individual to have a positive result depends on his or her personal or family history .
WHAT IS THE CHANCE MY PATIENT WILL HAVE A PHARMACOGENETIC VARIANT IDENTIFIED ? Studies show that over 95 % of people have a genetic variant that will affect how they respond to medications . We expect that most patients will have at least one pharmacogenetic variant that may affect their current or future medications .
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR MEDICAL PROVIDERS
IF MY PATIENT RECEIVES A POSITIVE RESULT , DOES THAT MEAN THAT A GENETIC DISEASE IS PRESENT IN THAT INDIVIDUAL ? Not necessarily . The variants being reported are known to be associated with risk of disease , but not everyone with a genetic variant necessarily will develop signs or symptoms . Some people can live a long life free of disease even if they are at increased risk , whereas others may develop signs or symptoms at any time . Individuals found to be at increased risk can be offered a program of further diagnostic testing and future surveillance , but they should not be told that they have the disease based on the genetic test result alone .
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET RESULTS BACK ? A number of factors can impact and delay genomic screening results , but we expect that most results will be returned in about 2-3 months . The time it takes for results to be returned is not an indication of whether an abnormal result was obtained .
HOW WILL MY PATIENTS RECEIVE THEIR TEST RESULTS ? There are two ways that your patients will receive AGHI test results . You will first receive an electronic copy of your patient ’ s results directly from the AGHI study team . We encourage you to review the results upon receipt and disclose them to your patient . Your patient also will receive a copy of the results from the AGHI study team via mail , approximately 2-4 weeks after the results have initially been disclosed to the ordering provider . In addition , if a medically actionable disease risk is identified , an AGHI genetic counselor will reach out to you and your patient by phone to bring attention to the result and answer any questions either of you may have .
WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO ME TO HELP UNDERSTAND MY PATIENT ’ S RESULTS ? AGHI provides just-in-time education resources to help health care providers better understand the testing provided in the study and how to use AGHI results to guide patient care . In addition , genetic counselors and pharmacists associated with AGHI are available to discuss your patient ’ s results in more detail , as needed .
WHOM SHOULD I CALL IF I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT MY PATIENT ’ S TEST RESULTS ? If you have general questions about your patient ’ s test results , including status inquiries , please email the AGHI program director at imoss @ uabmc . edu . If you have specific questions about pharmacogenetic results , please call 205-644-0142 .
To learn more about the AGHI , please email aghi @ uab . edu or visit aghi . org . aghi . org 23