The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is offering no-cost pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing to veterans enrolled at Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 4 facilities through the end of 2025.
This initiative, which will be offered initially in the VISN with facilities in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Ohio, and West Virginia, is designed to personalize medication management through analyzing 16 genes, informing patients and healthcare providers on medication and dosage selection, and potential side effects.
In a statement, the VA stresses that the PGx blood test is a one-time procedure, intended as part of clinical care and not a research study, aimed at ensuring that "our Veterans receive the most effective medications for their specific needs, enhancing overall health and well-being."
In addition, the VA noted that the VISN 4 PGx team is holding monthly PGx patient education Microsoft Teams sessions on the first Tuesday of every month at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The sessions cover topics such as what PGx testing is and how it works, how the results can be beneficial, what medications may be affected, considerations for testing, and where to complete testing.
The VA noted that any veterans interested in the PGx initiative should talk to their healthcare provider; the VISN 4 PGx team is also available Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-12 noon EST on the VA Health Chat to help answer PGx-related questions.
