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To the Editor: As a researcher involved in the scientific evaluation of the Breast Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing CD-ROM by Drs Green and Fost,¹ which was reviewed by Drs McGee and Malik,² I am interested in helping to determine the value and particular uses of this tool. Will the CD-ROM be used to replace genetic counselors and will research be construed as justifying this practice?

It would be a sociological error to conclude that personal contact is effectively mimicked by a software program. Blunt measures such as patient satisfaction or even psychological profiles fail to capture the process experienced by counselee and counselor, although certain factors are quantifiable. The integral healing capacity of interpersonal counseling, via genetic counseling or general medicine routes, can only seem obvious. To conclude otherwise would challenge the validity of the measuring instrument.

Still, professionals tire of repeating standard information, and consistency is difficult to . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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