Apr 21 - From Evidence to Action: Scaling Pharmacogenomics in Clinical Practice Key Insights from the 2026 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting- R. Rodney Howell Symposium-R. Rodney Howell Symposium

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The video features a comprehensive symposium on pharmacogenomics (PGx), highlighting leadership and implementation experiences across multiple healthcare systems. Dr. Rodney Howell is honored for foundational pediatric and genetic contributions. Dr. Philip Empey introduces the session emphasizing strong evidence supporting PGx, including numerous clinical guidelines and growing Medicare coverage.<br /><br />Dr. Deepak Vohra discusses the Veterans Affairs (VA) National Pharmacogenomics Program, which integrates PGx testing across 150+ facilities, testing over 140,000 veterans. Key to success is infrastructure centralizing genetic data and employing specially trained pharmacists who implement testing, educate providers, and consult on clinical care. Data show increased PGx testing uptake with pharmacist involvement and provider adherence to clinical decision support (CDS) alerts.<br /><br />Dr. Shirin Shaban addresses laboratory testing considerations—technical methods (targeted genotyping vs. sequencing), allele selection based on populations, nomenclature challenges (star allele system), phenotyping, and reporting. She highlights the importance of designing tests suitable for the institution’s needs and patient demographics.<br /><br />Dr. Philip Empey details PGx education challenges and strategies, revealing low clinician confidence in PGx use and highlighting scalable, role-specific training modules at the University of Pittsburgh. He underscores the importance of tailored education and continued professional development.<br /><br />Dr. Serene Hadar reviews translating CPIC guidelines into clinical practice through tailored electronic health record (EHR) alerts and reports, sharing St. Jude Children’s successes in pediatric adaptation and prescriber adherence.<br /><br />Dr. Mark Donenberger discusses sustaining PGx knowledge in a large health system, implementing CDS across patient journeys, monitoring guideline updates beyond CPIC publications, and patient engagement via portal messages. He emphasizes multi-disciplinary collaboration and ongoing system learning.<br /><br />The panel addresses key issues: consent practices (often oral or implied), standardizing star allele nomenclature challenges, ROI metrics focusing on clinical utility and medication impact, data interoperability hurdles, FDA lab reporting variability, and pediatric PGx evidence gaps.<br /><br />Overall, the symposium underscores that successful pharmacogenomics implementation requires robust data infrastructure, interdisciplinary collaboration, tailored education, adaptable CDS integration, continuous knowledge management, and patient engagement to optimize medication therapy and improve health outcomes.

Asset Caption

Preparatory Material (Optional)
Participants are encouraged to watch the two-hour recording of the R. Rodney Howell Symposium (presented March 14, 2026, at the ACMG Annual Meeting in Baltimore) prior to attending.

Keywords

pharmacogenomics

PGx implementation

clinical guidelines

Medicare coverage

Veterans Affairs National Pharmacogenomics Program

genetic data infrastructure

pharmacist involvement

clinical decision support

laboratory testing methods

allele nomenclature

PGx education

clinician confidence

CPIC guidelines

electronic health record alerts

patient engagement