摘要：The genetic revolution has spawned 4 distinct issues of universal importance to health care policy and society: genetic privacy, regulation and standardization of genetic tests, gene patenting, and education. Adequate policy advancements for these 4 areas are lacking. Stringent controls must be placed on individual health records to prevent their misuse. Genetic testing within the clinical setting should undergo thorough evaluation before it is implemented. Regulations are needed to prevent the monopolization of DNA sequences. Society and health care professionals must be educated about the scope of genetic testing because current trends indicate that genetic and molecular assessments are destined to become a routine component of health care. THE SUCCESS OF THE HUMAN Genome Project (HGP) has led to the emergence of challenging policy issues and unparalleled opportunities of immediate and future concern. Genetic and molecular technology developed during the HGP has already begun to revolutionize medical research, practice, and health care delivery. Advances in the identification of genes involved in hereditary disorders, drug metabolism, and dose response (pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics), as well as the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms, have only begun to make apparent the potential of genetic testing. 1– 8 Ideally, public health use of molecular and genetic tools will allow for population screenings and identification of disease before the onset of clinical symptoms. 2– 9 Furthermore, these tools will allow for individualization of drug treatment by establishing effect and dose determination on the basis of epidemiological pharmacogenetics and for implementation of behavioral modification on an individual basis by determining disease risk associated with the expression of high-risk genes. 1– 3 However, with the potentials of population-based genetics are inherent issues that require continuous assessment to ensure that the technology benefits society and that it is not simply a costly byproduct of scientific evolution. Although numerous issues have emerged from the genetic revolution, 4 particular issues are of universal importance to science, business, politics, and society: genetic privacy, regulation and standardization of genetic tests, gene patenting, and education. If unresolved, these issues could undermine and inhibit any potential benefits of genetic technology to society as a whole and could render a potentially invaluable tool as misguided science.
