The Problem With One-Size-Fits-All Prescriptions

For decades, medication prescribing has mainly been one-size-fits-all. You go to the doctor, get a prescription, and hope it works for you. But bodies—and genetics—differ. And that means some medications might work well for one person but cause side effects or be ineffective for another.

The science of pharmacogenomics (PGx) changes that. By using genetic testing to understand how your body processes different medications, PGx helps healthcare providers make safer, more effective prescribing decisions—tailored just for you.

So why aren’t more people benefiting from PGx?

Only a Small Fraction of Hospitals Are Using PGx

Despite its benefits, fewer than 1 in 5 hospitals currently use PGx testing to guide prescribing.¹ That means doctors still rely on trial and error, sometimes with serious consequences.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1.5 million emergency room visits occur each year in the U.S. due to adverse drug events (ADEs).² Non-optimized prescription medications have been found to contribute to more than 275,000 deaths and account for 16% of all U.S. healthcare spending.³ That’s not just a safety issue—it’s a financial one, too.

PGx testing helps address both by enabling personalized treatment plans that minimize the risk of adverse drug reactions, leading to safer, more effective care while potentially reducing costly emergency visits and hospitalizations.

Proactive, Precise, Personal, and Accessible—With Kadance

That’s where Kadance comes in. We provide access to genetic testing, the day your membership becomes effective, making it easier to bring this powerful science into everyday care.

Kadance connects our members with a clinical pharmacist to walk through their PGx test results, explaining what the insights mean and how their results can guide safer, more effective treatment decisions now and in the future.

It’s proactive care that helps reduce adverse drug events before they happen, not just respond after the fact.

Why PGx Hasn’t Been Widely Adopted (Yet)

While PGx is a game-changer, integrating it into traditional healthcare systems isn’t always simple. Hospitals and clinics face multiple hurdles:

• Specialized expertise: Interpreting PGx results requires clinical pharmacists trained to evaluate the data and apply it to a patient’s existing medication list and health history.
• Efficient communication: Providers need easy-to-understand guidance that fits into their workflow, like notes added directly to the electronic health record (EHR) or sent through clinical decision support tools.
• Laboratory capacity: PGx testing must be conducted in properly licensed labs, with validated equipment and quality controls, adding costs and operational complexity for healthcare systems trying to build this in-house.
• Computing power: The genetic data from PGx testing is vast. Analyzing and securely storing this information requires robust, HIPAA-compliant cloud infrastructure and often advanced tools like machine learning.

Because of these challenges, many health systems are hesitant to start from scratch. That’s why solutions like Kadance— supported by experienced partners—are critical to expanding access.

Kadance Makes It Simple

Rather than waiting for hospitals to build their own PGx programs, Kadance offers a path forward today. With over a decade of experience supporting PGx in clinical practice, we’ve built a streamlined solution that makes access easy and actionable.

We use a CLIA/CAP-accredited clinical laboratory to process your test and deliver results using secure, HIPAA-compliant systems. Then we pair you with a genomics-trained clinical pharmacist to help you and your healthcare provider understand what those results mean for your health.

No guesswork. No one-size-fits-all. Just smarter prescribing—personalized for your body. And anytime your medications or overall health changes in the future, your clinical pharmacist will provide new medication safety guidelines, because medication safety and optimization isn’t just a one-and-done activity. It’s an ongoing process.

Learn More

PGx testing shouldn’t be a luxury or an afterthought. It should be a standard part of safe, proactive care. The Kadance Precision Health Management Program is designed to help you understand how your genetics influence medication interactions.

Kadance gives you access to the insights you deserve—on day one, and continued reanalysis and support whenever you need it in the future.

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References

1. Admin. (2025, April 22). PGX Market Forecast: Navigating the path to a $50 billion industry by 2034. American Pharmacogenomics Association. Retrieved from https://americanpharmacogenomicsassociation.com/business/pgx-market-forecast/ July 31, 2025.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). FastStats: Medication Safety Data. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/medication-safety/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
   
3. Payer Matrix. (2023). Pharmacogenomics for improved outcomes and decreased costs in health care. The American Journal of Managed Care. Retrieved from https://www.ajmc.com/view/pharmacogenomics-for-improved-outcomes-and-decreased-costs-in-health-care July 31, 2025.

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