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Raiding the Medical Commons

Amy L. McGuire, JD, PhD; Wylie Burke, MD, PhD

JAMA. 2008;300(22):2669-2671.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

It is now possible for individuals to learn about their genetic susceptibility to dozens of common and complex disorders, such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, obesity, prostate cancer, and Alzheimer disease, without ever seeing a physician. Direct-to-consumer personal genome testing companies hope to empower consumers to take control of their health by providing tailored assessments of genetic risk based on reported associations between genomic variation and susceptibility to disease.

Several states limit or forbid this practice as a violation of state law that requires the appropriate involvement of a licensed physician when providing medical diagnostic information.¹ Personal genome testing companies claim that their services are for informational and educational purposes only. They warn consumers that the information should not be used for diagnosis, treatment, or health ascertainment purposes and direct them to their physicians if they have questions or concerns about . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Raiding the Medical Commons

Author Affiliations: Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas (Dr McGuire); and Department of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington, Seattle (Dr Burke).

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