Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Direct-to Consumer Genetic Testing Challenged
The California Department of Public Health stops private genetic testing companies involved in direct-to-consumer marketing. See link...." the state insists that genetic testing be conducted using specially licensed laboratories, and - more controversially - that all tests be ordered through a clinician (a proposal that stirred up howls of outrage from the human genetics blogosphere)."
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No one's debating the CLIA requirements, just the requirement for a doctor's referral. First of all, neither running the machines nor mining the data can be considered practicing medicine, and there's tons of non-disease related SNPs that it would be absurd to require a doctor's permission to learn about, such as those that reveal ancestry and so on. More importantly, why should someone else's permission be required to learn about your own DNA?
ReplyDeleteFinally, this is impossible to enforce, and will only send the work elsewhere. I think they realize this, and are just trying to shake out the scam artists.