Ethics of genetic testing

Genetic testing has become more prevalent in medical practice, and with it comes ethical considerations. There are two states in which a physician reaches an ethical crossroad with genetic testing. The first is determining whether to order genetic testing for a patient. Like any diagnostic criteria, the physician assesses the patient history and may directly order a specific genetic test. Recently, however, a physician may also find that the patient brings the results of a direct-to-consumer (DTC) commercial company health-related genetic test into the office for discussion.