Psychiatrist attitudes towards pharmacogenetic testing, direct-to-consumer genetic testing, and integrating genetic counseling into psychiatric patient care

Psychiatric treatment has not historically included genetic counseling or genetic testing. It has been shown that psychiatric patients and their families benefit from genetic counseling and pharmacogenetic testing for pharmacological treatment. To date, no study has investigated psychiatrists׳ attitudes towards incorporating pharmacogenetic testing and genetic counseling into patient treatment. This study employed a five item survey to solicit the opinions of psychiatrists on the benefit of pharmacogenetic data, direct to consumer (DTC) genetic testing, and genetic counseling. A total of 113 psychiatrists responded to the surveys. The vast majority (94.6%) indicated that genetic data would be useful in making pharmaceutical decisions, and 86% felt that pharmacogenetic testing would become standard of care. Attitudes were split towards the benefit of direct to consumer genetic testing; 55.8% of respondents would refer a patient for DTC genetic testing that might help with treatment decisions. The majority (72.6%) believed that it would be beneficial to include genetic counselors in psychiatric patient care. The results of our study suggest there is potential for collaboration between psychiatrists and genetic counselors to enhance patient care.