In the realm of genetic testing, doctors are usually caught between what patients want and what science offers. There are several ways in judging genetic risks, and doctors can be sued in more ways than one over genetic or DNA tests.
Wrongful birth or wrongful life
Patients may sue doctors for failing to provide adequate genetic or DNA testing, or if the doctor gave false negative test results.
Pharmacogenomics
Patients may file a medical lawsuit against their doctors for failing to order genetic testing prior to giving certain medications, such as Coumadin (warfarin).
Negligent medical advice
Patients may sue a doctor who failed to warn them of shared genetic risk of disease that runs in the family. In 2004, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that doctors are duty-bound to patients as well as their biological family members to inform of them of genetic testing and diagnosis.
Personal beliefs over patient rights
Doctors who denied patients genetic testing may not be able to claim “right-of-conscience” on the grounds of religious or moral beliefs.
Bear in mind that your doctor may not be well-versed in genetics and is most probably not up-to-speed on the latest available genetic tests.
The field of genetics is a complex one, and we cannot expect busy physicians to keep abreast of changes or new discoveries.
What can be the solution to this problem? It may be a good idea to increase the number of genetic counselors available and make their services affordable as well as commonplace. In fact there are already direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies that are either actually doing or aiming to do this.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment