Challenge
You are an advisor for Genetic Diagnostics Corporation (GDC), who specializes in susceptibility testing for inheritable genetic conditions. Their main business involves testing for the genes associated with Huntington's disease, cystic fibrosis, and hereditary cancers. Their lab is efficient and technologically advanced and can perform tests at low cost relative to other competing companies. GDC also collaborates with several university research laboratories to verify their testing methods. Although GDC usually serves hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies, the GDC president has recently proposed to make genetic testing more widespread by offering it direct to patients over the internet. With GDC's inexpensive technology, the average consumer could send a simple strand of hair and receive a genetic profile in less than two weeks. In this way, people could easily assess their risks of having a child with a disease, get a second opinion on previous test results, or find out how much life insurance to buy.While writing an ethics statement to the GDC board of directors, you realize there is much more involved in the ethics of this service than simply insuring confidentiality of patient results. However, you are a GDC shareholder and also realize the potential that this type of service might provide to low-income patients who might not have insurance or want to skip a trip to a doctor.
Write your statement to the board and outline any problems you foresee with offering widespread genetic testing, but also be sure to address any positive outcomes of this service. It is not your job to make the decision on whether to offer this service, rather, it is to write a report outlining the benefits and pitfalls from a balanced ethical perspective.
Continue to #2 'Generate Ideas'
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