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Ethical issues related to genetic testing
Genetic testing vs privacy
Ethical issues related to genetic testing
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The healthcare industry has come a long way in terms of technological advances. These advances have had significant benefits in diagnosis, treatment, and the way medicine is practiced today. Unfortunately, these technological advances also come with ethical issues and dilemmas the healthcare professionals must face. Genetic testing is an area that has had significant advancement over the past few years. Genetic testing can provide important information regarding diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illness or disease (Mayo Clinic, 2015). There has been progress recently with genetic testing within oncology and it has become an accepted standard of oncologic care (Robson, Storm, Weitzel, Wollins, & Offit, 2010 February 10). While genetic testing can provide valuable information, many of the tests are not regulated. This means that the tests go to market without an independent analysis of the validity (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2015). Genetic test kits are readily available on the internet for home testing. However, the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the Centers …show more content…
These patients are desperate and are vulnerable, often consenting to research studies without fully understanding the potential outcome. Therefore, it is imperative to educate the patients, public, and regulatory agencies regarding the pros and cons of these therapies. Tan & Payton (2010) describe the electronic health record (EHR), which dates back to the 1950s. These computer-based patient records have evolved into complex systems with many capabilities. They were designed to provide healthcare professionals with a comprehensive picture of a patient’s health status at any time and are meant to automate and streamline the workflow of the healthcare professional (Tan & Payton,
Historically, physicians and nurses documented patients’ health information using paper and pencil. This documentation created numerous errors in patients’ medical records. Patient information became lost or destroyed, medication errors occur daily because of illegible handwriting, and patients had to wait long periods to have access to their medical records. Since then technology has changed the way nurses and health care providers care for their patients. Documentation of patient care has moved to an electronic heath care system in which facilities around the world implement electronic health care systems. Electronic health records (EHR) is defined as a longitudinal electronic record of
Teutch, S., & Tuckson, R. Department of Health & Human Services, (2008). U.S. system of oversight of genetic testing: A response to the charge of the secretary of health and human services. Retrieved from website: http://osp.od.nih.gov/sites/default/files/SACGHS_oversight_report.pdf
Genetic Screening is a medical test that examines ones DNA. It can find mutations in chromosomes, genes, and proteins. These tests can confirm or refute a suspected genetic condition that could become a serious problem for one in the future. They can also help figure out a persons probability of getting certain diseases or sicknesses like cancer or diabetes. ( What is Genetic Testing?, para 1) There is also carrier testing which can be used to see what diseases couples may carry before having children. (What are the benefits of genetic testing? Para 1)
This paper will identify the use of Electronic Health Records and how nursing plays an important role. Emerging in the early 2000’s, utilizing Electronic Health Records have quickly become a part of normal practice. An EHR could help prevent dangerous medical mistakes, decrease in medical costs, and an overall improvement in medical care. Patients are often taking multiple medications, forget to mention important procedures/diagnoses to providers, and at times fail to follow up with providers. Maintaining an EHR could help tack data, identify patients who are due for preventative screenings and visits, monitor VS, & improve overall quality of care in a practice. Nurse informaticists play an important role in the adaptation, utilization, and functionality of an EHR. The impact the EHR could have on a general population is invaluable; therefore, it needs special attention from a trained professional.
There are many types of genetic tests that are administered to the adult population. The more commonly used genetic tests are paternity tests, genealogical tests, and forensic testing. They are quite self-explanatory; paternity tests are to determine relatedness of 2 subjects, genealogical tests are used to formulate a heritage or ancestry, and forensic testing is used to identify or rule out a person that has been charged with a crime. Other genetic tests include presymptomatic testing, used to determine the risk someone has to developing a genetic disorder, diagnostic screening, used to rule out or identify a suspected condition, and carrier screening, used to determine if an individual carries one copy of a gene mutati...
When it comes to genetic diseases and conditions, testing can be very helpful and serve a good purpose. People with diseases that are inheritable to their children are encouraged to be tested. For example, in the article about Jewish testing, it says
The Human Genome Project is the largest scientific endeavor undertaken since the Manhattan Project, and, as with the Manhattan Project, the completion of the Human Genome Project has brought to surface many moral and ethical issues concerning the use of the knowledge gained from the project. Although genetic tests for certain diseases have been available for 15 years (Ridley, 1999), the completion of the Human Genome Project will certainly lead to an exponential increase in the number of genetic tests available. Therefore, before genetic testing becomes a routine part of a visit to a doctor's office, the two main questions at the heart of the controversy surrounding genetic testing must be addressed: When should genetic testing be used? And who should have access to the results of genetic tests? As I intend to show, genetic tests should only be used for treatable diseases, and individuals should have the freedom to decide who has access to their test results.
The second concerning issue began after the completion of the thirteen-year long Human Genome Project (Schleckser). This project lead people to become curious about what genetic codes their DNA entails. Curiosity leads to the introduction of Direct-to-Consumer genetic testing, which involves a consumer, to perform their test from home and receive results at home. The concerning issue involves pure DTC genetic testing which eliminates a physician completely from testing and involves consumers to decide where and when they want to get tested, send their samples off and receive their results all from home (Schleckser). One of the only pure DTC tests that can be used without the discretion of a physician is 23andMe. 23andMe was labeled the “invention of the year” in 2008
The act of genetic screening itself does not count as eugenics. The screening process prepares potential parents and shows them what to expect. It enters into a fuzzy area if the fetus does have some kind of genetic disorder and the question of aborting it is brought up. eugenics is largely defined as the process of purifying the gene pool through the selection of ideal candidates. That is most likely not the thought process of parents making a private decision on whether or not to keep a disabled child. Rather, it is how a child born with a disability will affect their lives and if they have the means to take care of one. There is also the matter of the extent of a child’s disorder. If it is life threatening, the child may be born, live and soon die, all in constant pain. Thus, many would view it as a kindness to not subject a child to that.
Don’t do commercial genetic testing, it’s $1,000 and a big waste of your time and money. Not only are you wasting your time and money on something that isn’t ethical, you’re giving the companies the right to your past. How would you know if they’re trustworthy as well? I feel there needs to be more transparency when it comes to commercial DNA testing. Commercial genetic testing is unethical because you don’t know what they’re going to do with your DNA and also you’ll be losing a big part of your privacy.
Coughlin, S. S. (2002). Future challenges for research on diagnostic tests: genetic tests and disease prevention. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 56(5), 335-336. doi:10.1136/jech.56.5.335
Genetic screening, also known as genetic or genomic testing, has become a controversial method of discovering genetic mutations, anomalies, or differences that are pathological. According to a study conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University, 77 percent of Americans believe that genetic testing should be made accessible to the general public (Funk, Huff). Genetic testing, while a popular option for predicting the outcomes of genetics, has ethical implications related to prenatal diagnosis, predictive testing, and carrier testing.
These modifications might be undetectable by standard tests, however, genetic testing could potentially shed some light in this area. At the present, genetic testing (DNA analysis) is used to diagnose genetic diseases and alert people who may be at risk for various ailments. A couple of possible benefits of genetic testing include early treatment for a disease and more informed reproductive choices. This kind of testing, however, also presents itself with new issues. For instance, a medical insurance company might consider someone who possesses a gene associated with disease to have a preexisting condition. Employers can potentially use genetic information to discriminate against their employees. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is a law passed in 2008 that ensures genetic tests cannot be used to deny coverage or set higher insurance
In this day and age where technology seems to be moving faster than the human mind at times, there is a constant need to keep up with the ever-changing technology innovations and just technology in general. We live in a world where we rely on technology to do a lot of things that makes our lives so much easier to get through. Over the past 20 years digital records have been an invaluable tool for doing research and managing massive amounts of data. Banks and airline companies have managed to completely go electronic and now healthcare institutions are moving in the same direction with Electronic Health record (EHR) systems. In healthcare, EHR systems have transformed a predominantly paper-based industry to one that utilizes technology on many
Genetic testing has become very popular as technology has improved, and has opened many doors in the scientific community. Genetic testing first started in 1866 by a scientist known as, Gregor Mendel, when he published his work on pea plants. The rest was history after his eyes opening experiments on pea plants. However, like any other scientific discovery, it bought conflicts which caused major controversies and a large population disagreed with the concept of playing with the genetic codes of human beings. Playing God was the main argument that people argument that people had against genetics. genetic testing became one of the major conflicts conflicts to talk about, due to the fact that parents could now have the option of deciding if they