Precision dosing focuses on the individualization of drug treatment regimens based on drug attributes, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic variability, disease state characteristics, and patient-specific factors. This concept of dosing offers the hope of optimizing treatment strategies by taking into account specific factors that contribute to interindividual variability.
Why we need to utilize precision dosing
Drugs play an essential role in human health. However, choosing the correct dose for the right patient can be challenging for many clinicians. Unfortunately, drug therapy failures occur quite often in clinical medicine.
Modern medicine routinely follows standard dosing regimens that are established from randomized controlled trials and are described in the product label. These dosing regimens are based on the ‘typical’ or average patient, which is hard to identify, as every patient is different and may need individualized dosing to see improved outcomes. Adhering to these standard recommendations for initial dosing may not be ideal or safe for all patients, resulting in drug failure and adverse events due to supratherapeutic or subtherapeutic concentrations.
Scientific data shows that there is no one right dose for all patients and that every patient requires individualized dosing tailored toward their specific characteristics. With precision dosing, clinicians can optimize medication use while preventing drug failure in patients.
Every patient responds to drug therapy differently, whether that means:
- The new drug provides no clinical benefits and gives the patient intolerable adverse effects.
- The new drug provides clinical benefits, but the adverse effects are not tolerable so that the drug treatment must be ceased.
- The new drug provides no clinical benefits or adverse effects.
- The new drug provides clinical benefits with little or no adverse effects and treatment continues.
When patients are not receiving the right dose, the results could leave the patient feeling the same or feeling even worse than before. With a correct dosing regimen based on their individual characteristics, patient’s will see a boost in the drug’s effectiveness against the disease while reducing any potential side effects.
When it comes to improving patient outcomes, precision dosing is essential. In an analysis, researchers found that when managed with pharmacokinetic consultation and individualized dosing, patients in the severely ill group should have significantly better drug survival. Many evaluations of pharmacokinetic guided dosing have shown clinical benefits.
When a patient is given a dose based on their individual characteristics, their response variability will decrease and improve the chances of successful drug therapy.
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iDose, our cloud-based software, uses Bayesian models, routine lab results, and demographic information to allow physicians to individualize dosing to a specific target trough level. Interested in how iDose can improve your patient outcomes? Schedule a Demo today!
