title: Direct-to-consumer genetic testing: perceptions, problems, and policy responses.
abstract: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing has attracted a great amount of attention from policy makers, the scientific community, professional groups, and the media. Although it is unclear what the public demand is for these services, there does appear to be public interest in personal genetic risk information. As a result, many commentators have raised a variety of social, ethical, and regulatory issues associated with this emerging industry, including privacy issues, ensuring that DTC companies provide accurate information about the risks and limitations of their services, the possible adverse impact of DTC genetic testing on healthcare systems, and concern about how individuals may interpret and react to genetic risk information.
authors: Faculty of Law and School of Public Health, Health Law and Science Policy Group, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB T6G 2H5, Alberta, Canada. tcaulfld@law.ualberta.ca
authors: Timothy
authors: T
authors: Caulfield
authors: Amy L
authors: AL
authors: McGuire
mesh_terms: D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D030661:Genetic Privacy / Q000639:trends*; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D006291:Health Policy / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D012307:Risk Factors