Pharmacy Daily | Genetic test guidelines

THE UK Department of Health is cracking down on ‘direct-toconsumer’ genetic testing services with a new set of guidelines . Currently unregulated, the genetic testing services (which offer a range of pre-disposition testing for conditions such as Huntington’s Disease and Breast Cancer) have been garnering criticism from health industry pundits with the Health Department saying they “can raise unnecessary concerns or offer false hope to patients without clinical support”. The new UK testing guidelines stipulate that genetic kit companies follow basic rules including: that tests for serious hereditary diseases only be offered in conjunction with pre-and post result counselling; and that companies must make clear what the possible outcomes of taking a test are and what patients can do about it. The guidelines also require companies to provide simple, easy to understand info on how genetic testing works, and that claims about tests should be supported by evidence which is published in scientific journals.

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