title: Ethical issues in screening and testing for genetic diseases.
abstract: New analytic techniques coupled with detailed knowledge of the entire human genome soon will make possible testing of all genes in every person. Concepts of disease will change, and predisease states will be identified for genetic therapies. Patients, physicians, and laboratory personnel will be confronted with ethical and moral issues in the performance of genetic testing. The primary ethical issues will focus on who has the right to request or compel genetic testing, who has access to confidential information, and what medical or social actions may be predicated legally on genetic information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Kadlec
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: McPherson
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D030881:Disclosure; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D030661:Genetic Privacy; D005820:Genetic Testing; D005826:Genetics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology; D015273:Insurance Selection Bias; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012935:Social Justice