The VI Edition of the conferences on controversies in Neuropsychiatric Pharmacy, sponsored by Neuraxpharm, took place last week, organized by the Neuropsychiatric Pharmacy group of the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH). The chosen topic of discussion was ‘Moving towards precision psychiatry? Pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetics in Psychiatry: evidence and controversies’.
Hospital Pharmacists and coordinators of the conference, Amaya Rojo and Miriam Celdrán, highlighted the significance of precision medicine in transforming clinical and biomedical research and healthcare. They acknowledged that while precision medicine offers extraordinary opportunities to improve public health and reduce healthcare costs, its implementation poses challenges at ethical-legal, regulatory, organizational, and knowledge levels.
The conference focused on the opportunities and challenges of precision psychiatry. The sessions were divided into two tables, with discussions on psychopharmacotherapy from different perspectives. Speakers emphasized the importance of the phenotype over the genotype in neuropsychiatry therapy and how pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetics play crucial roles in treatment optimization.
Addressing the organizational and knowledge challenges involved in implementing precision medicine, professionals stressed the need for standardized interpretation and recording of data to ensure uniform exploitation regardless of the center or country. This approach aims to enhance patient care and improve mental health outcomes.
The day concluded with the presentation of awards, with the first prize being awarded to the clinical case presentation on the treatment of schizophrenia with residual symptoms in a patient on hemodialysis. The second prize was given for the role of the pharmacist in opioid cessation.
Overall, the conference provided valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges of precision psychiatry, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and standardization in improving patient care and mental health outcomes.