NEW YORK – Mental health diagnostics company Genomind said on Tuesday that its Professional PGx Express pharmacogenetics test will be covered and reimbursed by Medicare, and that the Department of Veterans Affairs has extended an existing Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract for the test.
These additional contracts and benefit coverage bring the total number of lives covered with Professional PGx Express to more than 100 million across commercial health plans, the VA, and Medicare, Genomind said. The test provides clinicians with a report on pharmacogenetic information for up to 24 genes in order to help them make prescribing decisions for mental health medications with fewer rounds of trial and error. Every test includes access to Genomind's On-Demand hotline and gene-drug-drug interaction software, to help enable safer and more precise prescribing.
"Multiple studies including several meta-analyses have proven that understanding a patient's genes allows for precision medication guidelines as it relates to mental health," Genomind Chairman and CEO Shawn O'Brien said in a statement. "This isn't surprising because we've seen how an understanding of our genes can vastly improve medical outcomes in other areas of medicine including oncology and cardiovascular health. It's very meaningful to patients, consumers, clinicians, employers, health care system and payers that genetic advancements can be applied to mental health."