title: The variation of response to pharmacotherapy: pharmacogenetics--a new perspective to 'the right drug for the right person'.
abstract: Not all individuals respond to drug therapy equally, nor do they all experience the adverse effects that are reported to occur with specific medications. Current prescribing practices, which use medications shown to be safe and effective in selected patient populations, vary in their efficacy and also in the development of adverse effects among individual patients. The new and rapidly evolving discipline of pharmacogenetics has the potential to match specific drugs to the genetic profile of the individual. Pharmacogenetics is likely to significantly affect the selection of prescription medicines and offers the potential for optimal safety and efficacy in an individual patient. Nurses must understand this new science in order to respond to inquiries and questions from their patients and to contribute to the development of protocols for delivering genome-based pharmacotherapeutics.
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D005815:Genetic Code / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000379:methods; D010597:Pharmacogenetics
chemical_list: D004247:DNA