Abstract |
Physicians currently consider genetic testing for breast cancer, especially the BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests, as problematic, because their predictive value, efficacy, and benefit to patients benefit vary greatly. Individual physicians are pressured by mounting patients demanding access to genetic testing. On the one hand, many patients believe that they have the right to know their future medical condition and that their physician is obligated to respond to this right. On the other hand, a number of physicians hesitate to offer genetic testing to patients because of ethical questions concerning the efficacy of the genetic testing, the psychological and social impact of such testing on the patients or their families, and the desire to honor a patient's rights to make his/her own decisions. ^ Additionally, legal issues surround the patient's perception of the physician's obligation to offer genetic testing. If a physician knows that a patient has a family history of breast cancer but does not offer the genetic test, and if the patient or a family member develops the disease, the doctor could be sued for wrongful practices. In brief, fear of possible legal suits and/or fear of patient reprisal can complicate the ethical questions that physicians must consider together to order BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic testing for the prediction of breast cancer. ^ This study examined the attitudes of Rhode Island primary care physicians about ordering genetic testing for breast cancer. It also compared these attitudes with the gender and the length of medical experience of these primary care physicians. The research studied four attitude clusters: the use of genetic testing; confidentiality and a third party's right to know an individual's genetic information; the physician's feeling of competency in understanding the technological, ethical, legal, and social implications of genetic testing for breast cancer; and finally, the attitude of physicians concerning responsibility to provide genetic counseling. ^ The results indicated that significant differences exist among physicians. Quite different attitudes were found regarding genetic testing and responsibility to counsel patients on the social, legal, and ethical ramifications of genetic testing for breast cancer. On the other hand, this study discovered no significant differences between physicians' gender or length of experience regarding patient confidentiality or adequacy of genetic technology. ^ As a result, these findings suggest a need to do further research on the differences found in this study. The question is, “Do these results reflect the attitudes of all primary care physicians or only the 162 doctors surveyed in Rhode Island?” ^
|
Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
Reprint years | 2003 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
No references found.
Citations of this work BETA
No citations found.
Similar books and articles
The Family Covenant and Genetic Testing.David J. Doukas & Jessica W. Berg - 2001 - American Journal of Bioethics 1 (3):2 – 10.
Direct to Confusion: Lessons Learned From Marketing Brca Testing.Ellen Matloff & Arthur Caplan - 2008 - American Journal of Bioethics 8 (6):5 – 8.
Genetic Disease, Genetic Testing and the Clinician.Kelly C. Smith - 2001 - Journal of the American Medical Association 285 (1):91.
Genetic Testing After Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Implications for Physician-Patient Communications.Nancy Berlinger - 2004 - Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 13 (4):417-419.
Argumentation and Risk Communication About Genetic Testing: Challenges for Healthcare Consumers and Implications for Computer Systems.Nancy L. Green - 2012 - Journal of Argumentation in Context 1 (1):113-129.
The Question Not Asked: The Challenge of Pleiotropic Genetic Tests.Robert Samuel Wachbroit - 1998 - Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 8 (2):131-144.
The Right Not to Know: The Case of Psychiatric Disorders.Lisa Bortolotti & Heather Widdows - 2011 - Journal of Medical Ethics 37 (11):673-676.
Collective Fear, Individualized Risk: The Social and Cultural Context of Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer.N. Press, J. R. Fishman & B. A. Koenig - 2000 - Nursing Ethics 7 (3):237-249.
The Medical Decision-Making Process and the Family: The Case of Breast Cancer Patients and Their Husbands.Roy Gilbar & Ora Gilbar - 2009 - Bioethics 23 (3):183-192.
From Figures to Values: The Implicit Ethical Judgements in Our Measures of Health.P. Vineis & R. Satolli - 2012 - Public Health Ethics 5 (1):22-28.
€œGenetic Testing of the General Population: Ethical and Informatic Concernsâ€.Kelly Smith - unknown
God, Disease, and Spiritual Dilemmas: Reading the Lives of Women with Breast Cancer.Megan Eide & Ann Milliken Pederson - 2009 - Zygon 44 (1):85-96.
Ethics and Genetics: Susceptibility Testing in the Workplace. [REVIEW]Chris MacDonald & Bryn Williams-Jones - 2002 - Journal of Business Ethics 35 (3):235 - 241.
Future Directions in Genetic Counseling: Practical and Ethical Considerations.Barabara Biesecker - 1998 - Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 8 (2):145-160.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2012-02-23
Total views
27 ( #425,895 of 2,520,891 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #405,457 of 2,520,891 )
2012-02-23
Total views
27 ( #425,895 of 2,520,891 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #405,457 of 2,520,891 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads