Clinicians' perceptions of pharmacogenomics use in psychiatry

This study aims to assess the attitudes and opinions of clinicians practicing in psychiatry toward pharmacogenomic testing, and in so doing elicits possible barriers and risks to employ this technology in patient care.

Doctors and pharmacists presently practicing in psychiatry were invited to participate in an anonymous web-based survey. Besides information on participant characteristics and experience in psychiatry, specific themes on pharmacogenomics including self-assessed competency, perceived usefulness in clinical situations, perceived risks and preferred mode of education were evaluated.

A total of 81% of respondents believed that pharmacogenomic testing would be useful for identifying suitable treatments and 71% believed that pharmacogenomic testing would be useful for medication intolerance. However, only 46.4% felt competent to order these tests. There were significant differences in responses for gender, doctors versus pharmacists and seniority in position. A total of 94.3% of respondents were concerned about costs and 84.5% were concerned about the lack of clear guidelines on its use. A total of 98.5% of respondents were keen on learning more about the applicability of pharmacogenomics, and the most preferred format of education was a lecture (44.5%).

Most clinicians acknowledge the potential of pharmacogenomic testing in clinical practice. However, concerns with regard to its cost-effectiveness and the lack of clear guidelines are possible barriers to its clinical implementation.