Background: Pharmacogenomics (PGx) testing optimizes
pharmacotherapy and reduces inter-individual variation in drug
responses. However, it is still not implemented in clinical practice in the
West Bank of Palestine (WBP). The aim of this study was to determine
the need for PGx education and testing among physicians from different
specialties in WBP.
Methods: This study used a cross-sectional survey that was administered
to 381 physicians from different cities in WBP. The questionnaire
consisted of 27 closed-ended questions that evaluate the exposure and
attitude toward PGx education, the role of PGx testing in clinical practice,
and the capabilities of physicians in PGx testing.
Results: It was found that exposure to PGx education is low, with most
of the respondents (81.1%) answering that PGx was not an integral part
of their medical education. The majority (> 90%) of the participants
agreed that PGx should be included in the medical school curriculum. It
was also found that 58.5% of the participants agreed that PGx testing is
relevant to their current clinical practice. In addition, most of the
participant physicians (> 60%) think that they are currently not capable
of prescribing and making decisions for pharmacotherapy based on PGx
testing.
Conclusions: It is concluded that there is a high need for PGx education
and implementation in clinical practice in WBP. We recommend adding
PGx courses to the curricula of medical schools and going forward with
the implementation of PGx testing in clinical practice in WBP.

Title

Drug Metabolism and Personalized Therapy

Publisher

Walter de Gruyter GmbH

Publisher Country

Germany

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

1.75

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

36

Year

2021

Pages

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