LB-006 - CLINICAL AND ETHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE EMERGING ROLE OF PHARMACOGENOMIC TESTING AMONG MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS: A QUALITATIVE EXAMINATION

J. Ding¹, C. Chen², S. Sorge^3,4; ¹Psychotherapy Research and Development Program, VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, NY, USA, ²Psychotherapy Research and Development Program VA NY Harbor Healthcare System - Manhattan, NY, USA, ³Department of Veterans Affairs, NY, USA, ⁴Department of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, NY, USA.

Background: Pharmacogenomic testing (PGx) continues to become a more common practice in the treatment of mental health conditions and is administered to roughly 4,000 Veterans monthly within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Despite this, there is a lack of qualitative research exploring mental health providers’ clinical and ethical perspectives on PGx – key factors informing PGx implementation and mental health treatment planning. This study helps to provide a better understanding of providers’ beliefs, opinions, preferences, and concerns regarding their role in advancing PGx implementation in mental health.

Methods: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted among mental health providers (N=14) at the Department of Veterans Affairs to examine clinical and ethical perspectives on the emerging role of PGx in mental health treatment. Subjects’ participation was voluntary. Interview notes were coded and analyzed utilizing the “grounded theory” approach to qualitative research. Data could not be analyzed before September 19, 2024 because the interviews were ongoing at this time.

Results: Among all providers, 93% (13/14) expressed no formal knowledge, education, or training of PGx. The qualitative analysis revealed: (1) to implement PGx, more training on its foundational concepts, clinical guidelines, and clarification of psychologists' roles is needed among providers; (2) while PGx was seen as beneficial for medication selection and treatment engagement, concerns arose among providers around data privacy, diversity implications, and the ethical use of genetic information; (3) providers highlighted the role of interdisciplinary collaboration in PGx implementation; (4) providers expressed interest in incorporating shared decision-making tools when discussing PGx with patients.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate possible barriers and facilitators to be considered in future implementation of PGx testing in mental health treatment and highlights the need for further education, training, and resources (shared decision-making tools) for providers to inform discussions of PGx with patients. The potential effects of genetic information on decision-making and treatment planning should be considered and addressed for support and advance clinical implementation of PGx.