Pandemic inspires pharmacogenomics telehealth pilot project.

Abstract

Max Smith Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Clinical Pharmacogenomics Specialist D. Max Smith was a trusted resource for clinician colleagues at MedStar Health with questions about pharmacogenomics. Nowadays, Smith’s pharmacogenomics expertise is also available to some patients through a telehealth pilot project that’s part of MedStar Health’s growing portfolio of remote care options. “It wasn’t by design that I was going to be talking to patients directly. This service was initially designed to be a peer-to-peer consult service for providers,” Smith noted. “But . . . clinicians were reaching out and saying, ‘Hey, I need some help talking with my patients about pharmacogenomics and how this affects their care.’” MedStar Health operates 10 hospitals and more than 300 care sites in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Smith is cochair of the organization’s Pharmacogenomics Steering Committee and Pharmacy and Therapeutics Pharmacogenomics Subcommittee. Smith completed a postgraduate year 2 residency program and postdoctoral fellowship in pharmacogenomics at the University of Florida before joining MedStar Health in 2018.