Regulation of Genome Testing

REGULATION OF GENOME TESTING
Customer Name:
Grade Course:
Tutor`s Name:
(09, December, 2010)
Regulation of Genome Testing
The ethical issues that arises in the in the articles is the need for authorities to regulate the direct to customer personal testing which critics argue that the if the service is readily available in the market and often does not involve the services of any health care professional. Easily availability of such personal testing services threatens the consumer safety in that it encourages carrying out of unreliable tests that are excessively claimed to be beneficial and this problem is coupled with misinterpretation of such test results (McGuire Et al. 2010).
Successful regulation of services that deal with personal genome testing will involve cooperation from various stakeholders including the governmental agencies and DTC companies that produce results often with variable and invalid clinical utility and with uncertain validity.
This issue can be solved only if the stakeholders develop and implement a risk-stratified approach where the FDA pre-market reviews focuses its efforts on higher risk tests while those identified as low risk test are subjected to other oversight mechanisms like the national registration that is intended to disclose uncertainties and risks of the tests.
Other ways of solving the issue is to ensure that these tests are strictly undertaken by healthcare professionals which will encourage provision of scientifically accurate and unbiased information on tests that are not yet fully understood. Also, the public should be sensitized on the issue and provided with accurate information which ultimately affects their decisions on the necessity and effects of undertaking such tests.
My views compromise with the alternate views in that even if stakeholders cooperate in solving the issue other considerations like the role played by international Laws on the issue. In carrying out regulated genome testing, it means that such tests are ethically correct and it reduces chances of other effects like those related to un-prescribed medication and nutrition alteration.
One of the catholic social teachings on genome testing is...