Harm is often caused not by the test itself, but from actions taken to manage the information of unknown significance it produces. It is in this way that a seemingly harmless test can hurt people. We do tests to find things, and when we find things, we commonly act, even when we shouldn’t, because we aren’t rational decision-makers.
Direct-to-consumer testing will change how medicine is practiced. It empowers us to make personal decisions about our health and generates novel, complex information that will unlock scientific breakthroughs.
When buying one of these tests, we should pay attention to what the company is claiming. Is their test a curiosity, an entertainment product, a research tool, or clinical care? The lines are often intentionally blurry.
The need for scientific support, informed disclosure, and regulatory compliance increases as the test moves from curiosity toward clinical care. If the test has only been shown to provide information or to make a diagnosis, or has only been shown to improve health in patients with specific risk factors different from our own, we should be skeptical. As they say, buyer beware.
Read the full article here
