Comments on: Please don’t let me be misunderstood

By: Genetics

Genetics — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:00:27 +0000

Genetics…

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By: Steven Murphy MD

Steven Murphy MD — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:07:30 +0000

You need more than protectionism to get an MD….You need pragmatism too……That’s why researchers usually don’t have MDs

In all seriousness…….when will the fed speak on this?

-Steve
www.thegenesherpa.blogspot.com

By: ECO

ECO — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:39:19 +0000

Stanford should give that guy an honorary MD for his blatantly misguided protectionism. Sheesh.

By: neandrothal

neandrothal — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:41:43 +0000

Critics also make the point that actions resulting from genetic information do not harm only the individual, but increase the healthcare burden for everyone. If someone survives an early heart attack brought on because they thought their genetic risk meant they didn’t have to exercise or eat right, they might exercise a greater drain on the healthcare system than they would have if they had behaved in a preventive manner.

That said, some studies have found that communicating increased risk due to cholesterol, blood pressure, or family history to patients has not significantly changed their behavior. But this isn’t an argument against returning this data to consumers, or even allowing them to test themselves for these things. However, if people generally have the idea of “genetic exceptionalism”, where they believe mistakenly that genetic information trumps other kinds of data, it is possible to test the hypotheses that genetic information can a) stimulate people to act where other kinds of information don’t, or b) cause people not to act when it is still in their interest to take preventive measures.