Prioritizing pharmacogenomics implementation initiates: a survey of healthcare professionals.

Aim: Characterize current perceptions, practices, preferences and barriers to integrating pharmacogenomics into patient care at an institution with an established pharmacogenomics clinic. Materials & methods: A 16-item anonymous survey was sent to healthcare professionals practicing at Tampa General Hospital and the University of South Florida Health. Results: Survey participants consisted of nine advanced practice providers, 41 pharmacists and 64 physicians. Majority of survey participants did not feel confident in their ability to interpret and apply pharmacogenomic results. In the past 12 months, 27% of physicians reported ordering a pharmacogenomic test. The greatest reported barrier to integrating pharmacogenomics was the absence of established guidelines or protocols. Conclusion: Most clinicians believed pharmacogenomics would be useful in their clinical practice but do not feel prepared to interpret pharmacogenomic results.

Lay abstract Pharmacogenomics is a field of personalized medicine where genetic information may be used to guide treatment decisions. Many advanced practice providers, pharmacists, and physicians are not as familiar with interpreting pharmacogenomic results to make medication changes. This survey was designed and administered to clinicians at Tampa General Hospital and the University of South Florida Health to characterize perceptions, practices, preferences and barriers to integrating pharmacogenomics into patient care. Survey results revealed that most clinicians believed pharmacogenomics would be useful in their clinical practice but do not feel prepared to interpret pharmacogenomic results.

Assessing the relationship between the level of pain control and patient satisfaction.

PURPOSE: The primary assessment tool used by hospitals to measure the outcomes of pain management programs is the 0-10 numerical pain rating scale. However, it is unclear if this assessment should be used as the sole indicator of positive outcomes by pain management programs. Although it is assumed that pain intensity scores would be correlated with patient satisfaction, few studies have evaluated the association between pain intensity scores and patient satisfaction. METHODS: In this pilot study, we investigated the relationship between pain intensity and patient satisfaction by evaluating 88 patients who received opioid analgesics at a 1018-bed acute care institution. A 14-question survey was adapted from a questionnaire developed by the American Pain Society to assess patient pain control and overall satisfaction with our institution's pain management strategies. RESULTS: This study found no association between pain intensity score and patient satisfaction with overall pain management (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient = -0.31; 95% confidence interval = -0.79 to 0.39). The majority of the surveyed patients were satisfied or very satisfied with their overall pain management, regardless of their pain intensity score. CONCLUSION: These findings contribute to the general understanding that institutions should use pain intensity scores together with a measure of patient pain satisfaction when assessing regulatory and quality control programs.