Evaluation of popular drug information resources on clinically useful and actionable pharmacogenomic information

Abstract

Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genes affect a person’s response to drugs. This descriptive study assessed whether popular drug information resources provide clinically useful pharmacogenomic (PGx) information. Methods: Four resources (package inserts, Lexicomp, Micromedex 2.0, and Epocrates) were evaluated for information about twenty-seven drugs. Results: There was wide variability of PGx information. Whereas Lexicomp included relevant PGx biomarker information for all 27 drugs, Epocrates did in less than 50% of the drugs. None of the resources had monographs that fully incorporated Clinical Pharmacogenomics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) recommendations in more than 30% of the drugs. Conclusion: Lexicomp appears to be most useful PGx drug information resource, but none of the resources are sufficient.