Pros And Consequences Of Genome Girologies

As individuals become proactive in managing their health there has been an increase in the popularity of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing. This increase in popularity further coincides with testing prices declining as a result of advances in technology. With widely accessible testing available to the general public it has become more important for the individual to be well informed. There are various positive and negative consequences connected with all types of DTC genetic testing. Consequences and general knowledge which a individual should be informed on while they are considering getting the test done.

It is patients’ right to opt for genetic testing on their own DNA, although they are accepting a great risk by doing so.

Recent developments in technology have changed the delivery of health care and the system used to record and retrieve health information. In addition to using paper medical records, healthcare professionals, hospitals and insurers routinely use computers, phones, faxes, and other methods or recording and transferring information. In many instances, this information - which could include medical diagnoses, prescriptions, or insurance information - is readily available to anyone (including clerical and other staff) who walks by a fax machine or logs on to a computer. This lack of privacy has the potential to undermine patients' relationships with providers and adversely affect the quality of care. Patients may also fear that the exposure of personal health information, including the results of genetic tests that are becoming increasing available, could result in the loss or denial of health insurance, job discrimination or personal embarrassment.

As you can see genetic testing is very important and can affect a child's and parents lives for the better and the worst. Children all over the world have serious genetic diseases that affect their life on a daily. Some of these diseases are Achondroplasia, Down syndrome, and Turner's syndrome. Many believe genetic testing is a good way to test for these genetic conditions before the child is even born, but others think that it can harm the baby very badly and even cause a miscarriage, so they choose not to do this kind of testing. Knowing about the most serious genetic diseases is very important for expecting parents to be informed as well as being

The inclusion of genetic testing into Electronic Health Records impacts the overall healthcare of patient’s because it informs the physicians and other medical professionals the selection of effective treatment or preventive action. A manager’s responsibilities are to implement policies to protect the confidentiality, privacy, and security of genetic tests results and information of patient’s. Policies contributing to potential discrimination acts are also advised because genetic/genomic testing reveals a patient’s physical characteristics.

Genetic testing has become a highly controversial issue among both the general population and the scientific community. It is a process that exposes a person’s entire genome sequence, allowing it to be read and evaluated to identify potential risks for genetic diseases or diseases that could be passed onto offspring (Holt Productions, 2012). With thousands of genetic tests already being used, and more being established, it seems logical to put this growing technology to use. Some agree that it is a person’s right to know and understand his or her genetic makeup. However, others argue that, despite the benefits of genetic testing, caution should be used to carefully inspect the risks associated with this new technology.

Knowledge of the human genome, and an increase in the availability of genetic testing at lower cost has made genetic testing more popular.

According to Chrystoja and Diamandis (2013), targeted genome testing is less costly than some traditional testing methods, is effective in assisting decision making for certain neoplastic medications and is useful in guiding the proper testing for certain diseases such as Lynch Syndrome. In addition, genetic makeup determines the pharmacokinetics of certain drugs and genome testing may assist in medication therapies. Studies indicate that genetic predisposition determines the effectiveness of 20% to 95% of prescribed medications (Bartlett, 2011). With DNA information, a physician can prescribe a tailored medication treatment that will benefit the

In recent discussions of medical advancements, a controversial issue has been genome mapping poses risks to its patients. On the one hand, some argue that it is going to be time consuming and costly. On the other hand, however, others argue that this can be a breakthrough in medicine. In sum, then, the issue is what America’s next step towards medical advancement is going to be. While some believe genome mapping poses many unseen risks, genetic testing can help identify unsurfaced illnesses.

<br>4. The rights of knowing someone's own health status and keeping that information private to oneself should be provided to all members of a society. Only the individual should have full access to information about his own genetic constitution and others should be prevented by legal regulations. As we have said above, the results of genetic tests can sometimes be detrimental to the individual. If a person does not want to know the information, its nobody's business nor right to declare it. This includes even not explaining favorable test results without the individual's request.

If the genetic information is only accessible to the individual then there is a decreased chance of such discrimination occurring because the information is disclosed to who the individual wishes to. Genetic information can raise questions about personal responsibility, personal choice versus genetic determinism, and concepts of health and disease. Personal factors, family values, and community and cultural beliefs can mould the reactions to these issues. For example the response to the genetic information and suggestion from physicians after the test will be drastically different in a society where traditions and religion determine life choices, such as India, than to a more individually liberal society like the USA. Even in a progressive society that has had specific ethnic groups for multiple generations disparities with medical technology are common. A study conducted, using the national representative data, in the USA with the sample that consisted of 1724 men and women of non-Hispanic whites, Latinos, and African American background. Results exposed significant differences by racial/ethnic groups in knowledge and concerns about the potential misuse of genetic testing. Significantly higher levels of mistrust in a physician and the medical system was a common thread within minorities. The genetic tests can be a way of ridding anxiety attached to the assumed inheritance of genetic disease due to family background whilst for others the genetic test reveals their reality. The results can have a great deal of a psychological impact upon the individual. The possibility of developing a genetic disease alone can create anxiety within some. The psychological impact from the results revealed is another issue that society is concerned about. A

I think in an advancing society it is necessary but, with limitations. A person has a right to know about their future children and is entitled to avoid anything they may consider to be too troubling to handle; however, patients should be made aware that the results may be negative or defamatory. But, access to this kind of information requires a serious amount of sensitivity and the person handling it should be aware of this and understand that the only ethics that have entitlement in this situation are the subjects’ . I think it’s all very delicate and subjective. There should be many considerations when having a child or dealing with one’s genetics but, the most important one is quality of life. As long as the ethics support that they are not only beneficial but,

When scientists are going to identify the type of cancer they need to do a genetic screening. Genetic screening is the process of going through the patient's genome to find the type of cancer. This reveals everything about the patient including other types of diseases they might have. People might feel that this lets the scientists know too much about the patient. The flaw with their totally legit argument is that before someone gets their genome sequenced, they must sign a waiver which gives the scientists consent and makes sure the patient understands what is happening.

Although the gene chip will enable an individual to know whether he/she has a genetic disease, that person may not want to know the information. Many people are frightened that a positive finding on a genetic test will result in discrimination and ostracism because the society will consider them abnormal (Easthope 2005). The other concern is that with genetic test information one might lose or might be unable to get a job or insurance. There have been concerns that with the knowledge of one’s medical information after a gene test, he/she might suffer a psychological problem especially when the results reveal that one suffers from a terminal disease or has high possibility of suffering from one (Willis 2009).

The use of WGS brings to light several ethical issues. First, the majority of patients that come for initial diagnosis are minors. Therefore, it is usually a parent or guardian that consents to the any testing which raises the issue of what results to report back to the patient and family. The European Society of Human Genetics has recommended to filter out known variants that have little or no clinical utility. While the American College of Medical Geneticists states that there needs to be a respect for autonomy, report all incidental findings regardless of age, and proposes patient’s decision shall apply to the entire set genes deemed actionable. Although, the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists recommends communication to parents about all results of a clinically actionable conditions that will present during childhood; furthermore, adult-onset should not be disclosed unless it could prevent harm to the health of the parents or other family members and if the parents desire the disclosure (Szego & Zawati, 2016).