One of the linchpins of personalized medicine is the utilization of pharmacogenomic testing to individualize treatment options. Yet adoption of pharmacogenomic testing has not materialized as hoped, in part because of a lack of data showing the clear outcomes benefits resulting from testing. Several recently published studies highlight the continued interest in pharmacogenomic testing and the barriers to adoption. “Pharmacogenomics is one of my interests and one of my struggles. I am an optimist, but the definition of a pessimist is a very well informed optimist and with pharmacogenomics we are very well informed,” joked Domnita Crisan, M.D., Ph.D., Beaumont Health System (Royal Oak, Mich.) during her presentation at G2 Intelligence’s 31st annual Lab Institute (Arlington, Va.; Oct. 16-18). “We are still in the hope stage.” Crisan cites data showing that 24 percent of U.S. outpatients could potentially benefit from using pharmacogenomic information to guide therapy choice and dosing. Yet data, including from her own experience, show adoption is substantially below that. In 2012 pharmacogenomic tests accounted for 0.36 percent of total testing at Beaumont. Crisan says at her institution pharmacogenomic testing is ordered more often in patients compliant with their medication, for whom symptoms persist, rather than at treatment […]