While pharmacogenomics seem to offer the ability to improve patient care (and hence therapeutic outcomes), the clinical adoption of pharmacogenomic interventions has been slow.
While many of the drugs commonly prescribed in general practice (eg warfarin, fluoxetine) are influenced by genetic variation, there is currently no clear recommendation in Australia about the use of pharmacogenomic testing.
International guidelines exist about the potential use of pharmacogenomic testing;10 however, there is limited evidence from randomised controlled trials of the clinical utility and cost effectiveness of using pharmacogenomics to tailor prescribing, especially in primary care.1,9