title: Commercial pharmacogenetic-based decision-support tools in psychiatry.
abstract: Despite a compendium of pharmacotherapies available for treating psychiatric illnesses, suboptimal response to these therapies is typical and thought to be in part a result of genetic variation. This notion has sparked a personalised psychiatry movement, which has in turn led to the development of several commercial pharmacogenetic-based decision support tools marketed to psychiatrists as an alternative to typical, trial-and-error, prescribing. However, there is considerable uncertainty about the validity and usefulness of these tools and whether there is sufficient evidence to support their adoption. In this Personal View, we provide an introduction to these tools and assess their potential usefulness in psychiatry practice. We conclude with clinical considerations and development strategies for improving future pharmacogenetic-based decision support tools for clinical use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Department of General Practice, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Hawthorne, VIC, Australia. Electronic address: cbousman@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Chad A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Bousman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Professorial Psychiatry Unit, Albert Road Clinic, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hopwood
mesh_terms: D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs