Ethics and Genetic Testing
Without a doubt, reliance on the genetic testing in the field of medicine has had and will continue having a great impact on health care issues. That is the case given that this practice has the potential of revolutionizing the diagnosing of diseases and enhancing their treatment. Despite these benefits, genetic testing still has several ethical concerns about its devotion to preserving the quality of health care services for patients. Quality encompasses several dimensions of care namely but not limited to patient safety, effectiveness and patient-centeredness (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2016). In essence, this discussion highlights reasons as to why health care organizations must consider preservation of quality as they embrace this scientific advancement.
Primarily, health care facilities must preserve the quality of care by proving that patient safety is not in danger with the adoption of genetic testing. According to World Health Organization, (2017) genetic testing holds greater risks to patients’ wellbeing because of its probabilistic nature. As such, this poses a question of the quality of the test, which health care organizations must answer as they decide to use this technology.
Another quality concern of genetic testing is its ability to uphold patient confidentiality. A case in point of this deficiency is manifest in the incidences of third party sharing of genetic testing information, which breaches the patient privacy (World Health Organization, 2017). Thus, as medical institution aim to take up genetic testing as a practice, they need to ensure patient confidentiality is not in question.
In closure, with such quality concerns, health care organizations must be careful to consider offering quality assurances to the patient as they endeavor to utilize this scientific advancement in their provision of services.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,. (2016). The Six Domains of Health Care Quality | Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality. Ahrq.gov. Retrieved 9 February 2017, from https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/talkingquality/create/sixdomains.html
World Health Organization,. (2017). Quality & Safety in Genetic Testing: An Emerging Concern. World Health Organization.
