PGx ECHO

About PGx ECHO

PGx ECHO is a collaborative effort of the Hub Site at the University of Minnesota and seven Spoke Sites: Children's Minnesota, Ferris State University, M Health Fairview, Manchester University, North Dakota State University, Sanford Health, and South Dakota State University. PGx ECHO aims to address the lack of PGx education and support for implementation across rural and underserved areas in the Midwest; a further goal is to assist other regions of the U.S. in creating their own PGx ECHOs. 

PGx ECHO focuses on improving the confidence of healthcare professionals in the use of PGx in patient care by providing them with education and consultation through telementoring as they incorporate evidence-based PGx information into their clinical practice. PGx ECHO meets monthly and is composed of PGx specialists and healthcare professionals who desire patient consultation, advanced case-based learning and short didactic education in PGx. Current programming is free and open to licensed healthcare professionals involved in direct patient care with a priority for those in rural and underserved areas. To maintain the objective and commercial-free programming of the PGx ECHO, attendees' affiliation must be academic and/or clinical in nature.

The Four Principles of the ECHO Model

• Use technology to leverage scarce resources
• Share "best practices" to reduce disparities
• Apply case-based learning to master complexity
• Evaluate and monitor outcomes

Program Objectives of PGx ECHO

• Disseminate PGx knowledge by providing consultation on participants PGx patient cases and recommendations for improving medication outcomes
• Support participants in building practice-relevant skills and applying PGx knowledge
• Build a PGx community of practice and collaboratively model practice for PGx guided care delivery
• Promote health equity by expanding patient access to PGx-guided medication management

PGx ECHO Commitment to Collaboration

In the spirit of collaboration, PGx ECHO is committed to working with community partners. PGx ECHO will:

1. Offer regular didactic presentations on PGx-related topics.
2. Offer special curricula and training opportunities on PGx-related topics.
3. Review patient cases presented by clinicians at partnering clinics and provide timely, written recommendations.
4. Provide routine, remote IT user support to facilitate connectivity and participation.
5. Be available, when possible, outside of teleconference times for emergent questions or issues, as necessary.

Interested in joining? pgxecho@umn.edu

Connect with us on Twitter: @pgxecho

View recordings of our past didactic presentations on Youtube. Case presentations are not recorded so join our sessions live to participate in the discussion. 

PGx ECHO meets the third Friday of every month at 12:00 PM CT.