Implications of the genetics revolution for health services research: pharmacogenomics and improvements in drug therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To review the societal and economic implications of the use of genetic information to individualize drug therapies. Although studies have begun to address the ethical issues raised by the use of genetic information , few have examined the implications of pharmacogenomics f rom the perspective of health services research. PRINCIPAL
FINDINGS: We propose a research agenda for health services research in three areas: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of pharmacogenomics; (2) to evaluate the effect of pharmacogenomics from the perspective of patients, providers, insurers, industry, and government ; and (3) to evaluate the ethical and societal implications of pharmacogenomics. Throughout the article we use the example of HIV genotyping as an illustration of how genetic technology is disseminated and used.
CONCLUSION: More research is needed on the societal and economic implications of pharmacogenomics to inform the clinical and policy decisions about its use that will be increasingly urgent in the future.