About Us

The Rx Concierge Group

Our founder and CEO, Nick Fontanella created the Rx Concierge Group in May 2023 with the desire to promote medication safety, improve health literacy, and deliver patient-centric care with every interaction. That dedication was inspired by an obvious but missed opportunity in healthcare today, personalized medicine.

Background

Drawing upon his experience as a board-certified pharmacist, Nick realized the profound need to understand how genetics influence an individual’s response to medication. After failing to find pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing in Monmouth County NJ, he was driven to bring this incredible and insightful opportunity to his local community (and beyond).

Pharmacists are uniquely positioned to spearhead PGx testing since they are already serving their communities in pharmacies, protecting patients from drug interactions and adverse reactions, and are more than qualified in pharmacology/medicine (3 years plus additional post-grad training). Pharmacogenomic testing empowers patients to better understand themselves and ensures safer and more effective care for their entire lives.

Snapshot: American Healthcare + PGx Testing

What: Pharmacogenomic (PGx) Testing

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) is the study of how genes affect a person’s response to medications. Testing plays a crucial role in tailoring each patient’s treatment and promoting safety throughout the process. Understanding these genetic differences enables healthcare providers to personalize medication regimens, optimizing effectiveness and minimizing adverse reactions. As we continue forward into the future, genetic variation will remain a pivotal factor in ALL patient care.

When: TODAY!

Q: Why do we support proactive or preemptive PGx testing?

A: Regardless of background or current medications, someone will interact with a prescription in their life numerous times when living in America. Our healthcare system and aging population almost guarantee that pharmaceuticals will always be present and utilized by medical professionals to treat acute and chronic illnesses.

Q: How does that apply to me?

A: Due to the likelihood that most people will be prescribed one or more medications at some point in their lives, it makes sense to understand your individual genes that affect the breakdown, clinical effects, and potentially harmful side effects of those medications. A PGx test will lead to personalized future treatment plans (medication, dose, duration, etc.).

Q: Do the test results change over time?

A: A standard PGx test will screen the most common genes known to affect medications, which exist in somatic cells or cells that resist change throughout your life. Excluding certain transplant patients, your PGx results will remain applicable indefinitely.

Why: The Costs of PGx

In the United States, the fourth leading cause of death is adverse drug reactions (ADRs). These ADRs present a major threat to the healthcare system by contributing to increased mortality, morbidity, extended hospital stays, and overall increased healthcare costs. Up to 60% of ADRs are considered preventable, with a majority being due to drug-drug and drug-gene interactions.

Cost-Saving Studies and Examples:

a) PGx-Guided Prescribing of Cardiovascular Medications: Average savings = $750/year

b) Antidepressants and PGx: $1,948 over 6 months

c) PGx Implementation in Hospitals: $7,000 per patient (total savings for study group = $37 million over 2.5 years)

How: The Approval Process

In the United States, prescription medications are scrutinized and approved by the FDA once they meet all necessary safety and efficacy measures (Phases 1, 2, and 3). According to the FDA, the average number of patients in the first 3 phases of drug development is ~3,400. Once brought to market, the FDA is responsible for Phase 4 or “post-marketing monitoring”, which tracks the effects of medications distributed to the general population (~340 million Americans).

Who: The General Public

The United States is generally described as a “melting pot” with people of all backgrounds. Those differences bring genetic diversity which shapes how a person will respond to their medications.

Where: The US Healthcare System

Prescribing generally follows established treatment guidelines, specific to the disease or patient population. While incredibly helpful, these guidelines make assumptions about groups of patients, which are sometimes false or misleading. Patients within the same ethnicity or age group may have specific genetic mutations, which lead to overtly different outcomes, side effects, and reactions.