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Medical Malpractice Law & StrategyFeaturesHealth Care LawLegislationLitigationLJN NewslettersMedical Malpractice

Genomic Testing: The Perils and the Pitfalls

By Linda S. Crawford
July 02, 2017

The era of personalized medicine, which relies in part on genomic testing, is growing rapidly. Some hospitals, including Massachusetts General Hospital, are already using such testing in providing care. Ray, Turna: Study Finds Docs Could Face Greater Malpractice Risk in Personalized RX Era. July 29, 2011, http://www.genomeweb.com. It has the potential to be of value to patients in terms of diagnosing conditions, as well as deciding on proper treatments.

However, there are pitfalls for providers and companies that offer genomic testing. They might include not offering genetic testing if it is indicated, not offering the proper testing, or reporting inaccurate or misleading results. Each of these has the potential to generate a lawsuit, and indeed each of them already has. As Gary Marchant and Rachel Lindor indicated in an article published a few years back, “History demonstrates that new medical technologies usually spur increases in medical malpractice litigation. In part, this is a reflection of the reality that the more a provider is capable of doing, the more he or she becomes expected to do, and thus the more something can go wrong and lead to a lawsuit.” Merchant, Gary and Lindor, Rachel: Personalized Medicine and Genetic Malpractice. Genet Med. 2013 Dec. 15(12):921-922.

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