Pharmacogenomic testing: coming to a community pharmacy near you

The PJ Pod

What if you could pop into your local pharmacy to get tested for how your genes affect the way you metabolise drugs, such as statins or antidepressants? In several countries, you can. Features editor Dawn Connelly travels to those countries and speaks with community pharmacists that are already providing this routinely. She starts by visiting the Netherlands, where she talks to Fleur van Gelder and Jesse Swen about their pharmacogenomics testing service, and gets to experience it for herself. She then speaks with community pharmacists Fabio de Rango, in Canada, and Nami Nagar, in Australia, about what testing they provide and how it has enhanced their relationships with both patients and GPs. Finally, Connelly returns to the UK to assess when community pharmacies here might get to provide such a service. She speaks with Munir Pirmohamed, NHS chair in pharmacogenetics, who advises the health service, and breaks some exclusive news about one UK pharmacy chain. This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh.