Manama: Methods to improve the quality of health care by using pharmacogenetics, a strategy to ensure the correct use of drugs for each patient to avoid negative side-effects, were discussed at webinar hosted by the World Innovation Summit for Health (Wish).

The webinar on Pharmacogenetics and Patient Safety was part of the ‘Safer Care Accelerator’ series by the Leading Health Systems Network (LHSN).

The LHSN is an initiative of Wish that brings together health care leaders and industry experts to identify and discuss areas of improvement in health care systems.

The webinar, led by Dr Deepak Voora, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, and Dr Geoffrey Ginsburg, Director of the Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, highlighted the significant clinical and economic impact of adverse drug reactions as participants outlined examples of drugs that cause such reactions and ways to mitigate them.

The speakers also offered recommendations on improving policy through the administration of the right drug that is tailored to a patient’s genetic make-up.

“Commonly used medications for heart disease, cancer, seizures and many others, have side-effects that are a result of genetic variation that affects the metabolism of these drugs in some people,” Dr Ginsburg said. “If genetic testing was done at the time of drug prescribing, many adverse events might have been avoided.”

According to Didi Thompson, Policy Fellow at Imperial College’s Centre for Health Policy and Wish Forum Fellow, “People often think of patient safety in relation to surgical outcomes or hospital-acquired infections.”

“However, patients receive the majority of care outside of the hospital,” she said. “With an ageing population, and patients often taking four or five medications concurrently, adverse drug reactions are a significant patient safety issue. The field of pharmacogenetics can provide us with tools to deliver safer, more effective care and reduce the likelihood of adverse drug reactions.”

This webinar emphasised the extent of positive impact that effective implementation of pharmacogenetics would have on a global level.

“Adverse drug reactions are a global concern for patient safety,” Dr Voora said. “They are costly and can be prevented. Pharmacogenetics is a strategy that aims to provide the right dose of the right drug to the right individual and can contribute to avoiding drug toxicity and improvement of safety and quality of health care.”

Since its establishment in 2009, the LHSN has collaborated with 25 health systems from more than 12 countries to exchange knowledge among experts and discuss ways of making significant improvements in the existing health care policies.

The LHSN is based at Imperial College in London and has partnered with Wish to produce a positive change through monthly webinars that aim for healthier populations all over the world.

Hamad Medical Corporation and Sidra Medical and Research Centre in Qatar are part of the 18 organisations that have joined the effort.

Wish launched the LHSN Safer Care Accelerator Programme to share best practice and inspire health systems worldwide to provide safer care for patients.

The programme brings together a global network of health care organisations to exchange insights, experiences, and data on the topic of patient safety, culminating in the publication of a global report. The 2016 Wish Summit will take place on November 29-30 in the Qatari capital Doha.