Patients and Doctors Should Work Together in the Genome Revolution

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted May 8, 2007 in DNA in General, Personalities with DNA

The Blog That Ate Manhatton (eek!) is hosting today’s issue of Grand Rounds, Volume 3, No 33. Not only is it chock full of interesting medical information and analysis, host TBTAM had thoughtful comments about each entry. In response to my interview of Dr. Keith Batchelder, she had this to say:

Personalized medicine and genomic health care – Eye on DNA interviews the CEO of Genomic Healthcare Strategies, and gives us a glimpse at a possible future. I was fine till I read the list of new stakeholders in this area, and realized just how much of the trend in health care is to take it out of the hands of physicians and put in anywhere else it will make money in a direct-to-consumer market. I wonder where the ethics in this brave new world will come from?

Patient empowerment is certainly a growing trend. Not all of us feel as comfortable with our doctors and healthcare professionals as we should. And many patients are educated enough to do their own research before visiting the clinic. I can imagine that being annoying for healthcare providers, but more information available to everyone can only be a good thing.

What I’d personally like to see is greater collaboration between physicians, genetic counselors, and patients aka consumers to define a personalized approach to preventing and treating disease. It doesn’t have to be one camp against another. And, in fact, if we persist in keeping secrets from our healthcare providers because we’re afraid of their disapproval or if physicians want to deny services to their patients simply because they are not the conduits, we will create an environment in which useful information is lost.

In the genome revolution, information truly is power. The question is how will we use the information and who will have access to it?

NB: I join the rest of the medical community in saying good-bye to Dr. Barbados Butterfly whose blog had to be shut down at the request of her employer. Dr. Michael Hebert has an excellent discussion of why and how doctors should blog. More information on this issue in this Detroit Free Press piece by Margarita Bauza.

Tags: genetics, genome, genomics, genes, dna, diseases, illness, health, medicine, physicians, genomic healthcare strategies, keith batchelder, grand rounds

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Comment by David Bradley

2007-05-08 20:10:49

Hsien, thought this might have some relevance:

http://www.alphagalileo.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=readrelease&releaseid=520144&ez_search=1

It’s about using e-Science (Grid technology) to make the most of medical records re pharmacogenomics

db

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Comment by Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD

2007-05-10 10:53:33

Thanks for the link, David!

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Pingback by DNA Direct Talk » Blog Archive » What Role Will You Play in the Genomic Revolution?

2007-05-10 20:37:48

[...] Eye on DNA responds: What I’d personally like to see is greater collaboration between physicians, genetic counselors, and patients aka consumers to define a personalized approach to preventing and treating disease. It doesn’t have to be one camp against another. And, in fact, if we persist in keeping secrets from our healthcare providers because we’re afraid of their disapproval or if physicians want to deny services to their patients simply because they are not the conduits, we will create an environment in which useful information is lost. [...]

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Pingback by Gene Genie for 19 May 2007 « Gene Genie

2007-05-19 14:43:49

[...] at Sandwalk where we get 9 for the price of 1 Hsein Lee at Eye on DNA commented on the topic as well . She thinks we all can just get along. I say yes, patients and providers should get along. But [...]

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Comment by ophthalmologist

2009-07-20 22:24:03

It doesn’t have to be one camp against another. And, in fact, if we persist in keeping secrets from our health care providers because we’re afraid of their disapproval or if physicians want to deny services to their patients simply because they are not the conduits, we will create an environment in which useful information is lost.

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