Toward Pharmacogenomics-Enabled Healthcare at Statewide Scale: Implementing Precision Medicine
PIs: Constantin Aliferis, Pamala Jacobson, Catherine A. McCarty, Susan M. Wolf
Precision medicine is transforming the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases. The leading edge of precision medicine is pharmacogenomics (PGx)—a powerful tool using an individual’s genetic makeup to prescribe the correct medication, at the appropriate dose, at the right time.
PGx reduces the risk of adverse drug reactions and maximizes the effectiveness of treatment for every patient. Yet despite its proven scientific basis, immense promise, and successful deployment by a small group of pioneering provider organizations, incorporating PGx into clinical practice across the nation has proved slow and challenging—even at advanced academic medical centers.
This Grand Challenge project will take a statewide approach to deploying PGx, in order to bring the benefits of this major healthcare innovation to all Minnesotans and to launch the research and innovation needed to make Minnesota a national leader in PGx. As a strong, interdisciplinary team across multiple institutions in our state, we will systematically identify the barriers to PGx implementation and create evidence-based solutions. We will build on the work of our state’s early adopters of pharmacogenomics—Mayo Clinic and Children’s Minnesota—and forge a collaboration including urban and rural health care providers, large and small pharmacies, private and public institutions, and researchers at the University of Minnesota.
The ultimate goal is to improve patient outcomes, reduce health care costs, and place our healthcare systems and state at the cutting edge of precision medicine research and implementation. Our project creates a framework for statewide PGx that will advance the work of multiple health systems caring for millions of patients.