Pharmacist education in the era of genomic medicine.

Pharmacists are increasingly expected to incorporate an understanding of the genomic contributions to medication management in their daily practice,and a general consensus exists that many pharmacists are not adequately prepared to effectively make use of genomic information. In November 2011, the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health convened a meeting to discuss the status of genomics education for pharmacists. A variety of pharmacist organizations and other stakeholder groups attended the 2-day event and explored the current status of pharmacist genomic education, barriers and facilitators to enhanced education, and important next steps to ensure that pharmacists are prepared for the coming decades. This report summarizes the background, content,and outcomes from this meeting.

Effects of online genetics education on physician assistant interviewing skills.

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to evaluate the impact of an Internet-based educational program on clinically relevant communication behaviors. METHODS: A randomized trial enrolled 50 physician assistants (PAs); 40 PAs completed the trial (18 in the intervention group and 22 in the control group). Participants conducted simulated visits that were coded for completeness of family history, referral for genetic services, and overall interviewing style using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS). RESULTS: Compared with PAs in the control group, PAs who took the Web course elicited more complete family histories (7.2 vs 5.0 of a 13-member pedigree; t = 2.3, P < .05) and more detailed cancer histories (3.2 vs 2.3 of five affected family members; t = 2.7, P < .001) but did not make more genetics referrals. Overall, intervention-group PAs used a less patient-centered interviewing style than controls (1.9 vs 3.2; t = 2.8, P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: More comprehensive assessment of family history was associated with lower patient-centeredness, suggesting a need for caution with regard to unintended consequences of targeted communication interventions on interviewing style.