Factors influencing uptake of pharmacogenetic testing in a diverse patient population.
BACKGROUND
The successful integration of pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing into clinical care will require attention to patient attitudes. In this study, we aimed to identify the major reasons why patients would or would not consider PGx testing and whether these factors differed by race, socioeconomic and insurance status, and medical history.


METHODS
We developed and conducted a survey within the adult patient population of the Duke Family Medicine Center.


RESULTS
Of 75 completed surveys (65% African-American), 77% indicated they were 'very likely' or 'somewhat likely' to take a PGx test. Respondents who had experienced a side effect were significantly more likely to indicate they would take a PGx test and expressed greater interest in learning more about testing than those who had not. Drug safety and effectiveness were the major reasons to have PGx testing. Privacy concerns and lack of insurance coverage for testing were the major reasons to decline testing.


CONCLUSIONS
We found no differences in interest in PGx tests by race or socioeconomic status, but found stronger interest from those with a history of side effects and private insurance. While the overall support of PGx testing is encouraging, greater reassurance of medical privacy and development of educational resources are needed.
O'Daniel
J
J
Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
Lucas
J
J
Deverka
P
P
Ermentrout
D
D
Silvey
G
G
Lobach
D F
DF
Haga
S B
SB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005820:Genetic Testing; D060005:Genotyping Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010597:Pharmacogenetics / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult