GeneSight & Pharmacogenomics

Do Pharmacogenomic Results Last a Lifetime? Sharing Them With Other Clinicians

By Dr. Stacey Forbes, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC · Updated October 12, 2026

Yes, in one sense: the genes a pharmacogenomic test reads are the ones you were born with, and they do not change. A swab at 25 and a swab at 65 should show the same genotype. What can change is everything built on top of it: the way labs translate a genotype into a metabolizer label, the guidelines that say what to do about it, and the genes a panel includes. This guide explains which parts of a report age and which do not, why the result can matter to doctors who are not prescribing psychiatric medication, and how to share it.

What stays fixed, and what doesn’t

GeneSight puts the fixed part simply: a person is born with their genes, and these do not change throughout their life. Pharmacogenomic tests read inherited (germline) DNA from cells in your cheek, so the variants found are part of you permanently.

A report contains more than raw genotype, though. It usually has four layers, and only the first is permanent:

One more thing is never captured by the report: what else you are taking. Some medications and supplements can make your body act like a different metabolizer type than your genes would predict. GeneSight states its results do not cover drug-drug interactions, which is why your current medication list always matters; when other medications change your genetic result explains this.

Interpretations get updated: two real examples

The clearest example is CYP2D6. In 2020, the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) and the Dutch Pharmacogenetics Working Group agreed on a shared way to translate CYP2D6 genotype into metabolizer type. Under it, people with an activity score of 1.0, previously reported by CPIC as normal metabolizers, are now classed as intermediate metabolizers. The authors noted that interpretive reports would need updating and that labs might choose to re-contact previously tested patients. Your DNA did not change; the label did.

A second example comes from cardiology. CPIC’s 2022 update to its CYP2C19 and clopidogrel guideline revised the 2013 version: it updated the genotype-to-phenotype translation, expanded the situations where genotype-guided treatment applies, and strengthened its recommendation for intermediate metabolizers in some heart patients.

The practical lesson: if your report is several years old, the genotype is still good, but it is worth asking a clinician to read it against current guidance rather than relying on the old labels. A report that lists actual genotypes, not just colored categories, is much easier to reinterpret. For more on the labels themselves, see poor, normal and ultrarapid metabolizers explained.

Why your result matters outside psychiatry

The liver enzymes that handle many antidepressants also handle medicines from other specialties. The FDA keeps a Table of Pharmacogenetic Associations listing gene-drug pairs where it believes the evidence supports a difference in how some people respond. Two examples many people meet at some point:

• Clopidogrel (a blood thinner used after heart attacks, stents and some strokes) and CYP2C19. In intermediate or poor metabolizers, the FDA table notes lower levels of the active form and a lower antiplatelet response, which may mean higher cardiovascular risk, and says to consider another drug in the same class. CPIC’s 2022 guideline recommends avoiding clopidogrel where possible for poor metabolizers in its main heart-procedure setting.
• Codeine (a pain and cough medicine) and CYP2D6. Ultrarapid metabolizers turn more codeine into its active form, and the FDA table lists a risk of life-threatening breathing problems and death. Poor metabolizers may get less pain relief. Codeine is contraindicated in children under 12.

The FDA is careful to add that listing a pair does not necessarily mean it recommends testing before prescribing, and that the table is not a complete guide to any drug. These are decisions for the prescriber in each specialty. The point is simply that a CYP2C19 or CYP2D6 result ordered for depression may be useful to your cardiologist, surgeon or dentist years later, if they know it exists.

A psychiatry-focused report may be organized around mental health medications and may not mention these drugs at all, even when the underlying genotype is relevant. That is another reason to keep the full report, not just the summary page.

How to share your report with other clinicians

Results go to the clinician who ordered the test. If your other clinicians use a different record system, they will not see it unless someone sends it. A few habits make the result travel with you:

1. Get your own digital copy. Ask the ordering clinician; GeneSight notes that clinicians can share a digital copy, and it has a request form if that is not possible. HIPAA also gives you a right of access to your records.
2. Send it to your primary care clinician. You can ask in writing for a copy to go directly to someone you name. Ask them to note the key genotypes in your chart, the way an allergy is noted.
3. Tell your pharmacist. Pharmacists check interactions every time you fill a prescription and are often the first to catch a gene-drug issue.
4. Mention it before procedures. Surgery, dental work and new pain prescriptions are moments when CYP2D6 can matter.
5. Keep it with your medication list. A phone note that lists your key genotypes alongside your medications is easy to show anyone.

At Willow & Stone, results are reviewed with you by telehealth or in person, alongside your history and other medications, and it is fine to ask for the summary in a form you can hand to another clinician. The practice’s broader approach is on the GeneSight testing page.

When retesting could make sense

Because genes do not change, repeating the same test from the same lab rarely adds anything. If you have lost the report, request a copy rather than retesting. A new test can be reasonable when:

• the original panel did not include a gene that matters for a decision you face now;
• the original test did not check for extra or missing copies of CYP2D6, which a joint AMP and CAP recommendation calls essential for clinical CYP2D6 testing;
• the only result you have is from a consumer DNA kit, which is not designed to guide treatment decisions on its own;
• the report gives only categories, without genotypes, and the categories cannot be reinterpreted under current guidance.

Whether any of these applies is a judgment for your prescriber. How pharmacogenomic tests differ explains what to look for on an older report, and five things nobody tells you about GeneSight is a frank primer if you have not tested yet.

Common Questions

Sources & Further Reading

• GeneSight — Patient FAQs
• FDA — Table of Pharmacogenetic Associations
• Lee CR et al. CPIC guideline for CYP2C19 genotype and clopidogrel therapy: 2022 update. Clin Pharmacol Ther
• Caudle KE et al. Standardizing CYP2D6 genotype to phenotype translation (CPIC/DPWG). Clin Transl Sci 2020
• eCFR — 45 CFR 164.524 (right of access)
• Pratt VM et al. Recommendations for clinical CYP2D6 genotyping allele selection (AMP/CAP). J Mol Diagn 2021

This article is general education, not advice for your situation. Do not start, stop, or change a medication based on a genetic test result without talking to the clinician who prescribes it.