Health Care Decision Makers Not Ready for Genetic Revolution
The daily demands of working in the health care industry means that key decision makers are neither prepared nor have the time for thinking about how genetic technology will impact medical care.
In 16 workshops and informational meetings, 600 participants from pharmaceutical, medical-device, clinical-laboratory companies, and other associations involved in health care discussed the following topics pertaining to genomic medicine.
- Knowledge of Genomic Medicine – Approximately 90% of participants exhibited only rudimentary general knowledge about the human genome and proposed genomic applications.
- Timing and Impact – The majority believed that most applications would not be available for decades.
- Legal, Policy, and Bioethical Issues – Participants feared that genomic medicine and its practice would be applied by legislative mandate rather than based on evidence of clinical outcomes.
- Workforce and Information Technology – Fewer than 5% of participants had already assigned staff to prepare for the introduction of genomic medicine, and the vast majority were unaware of the acute national shortage of physician specialists and genetic counselors in this field.
- Costs – No participants reported strategic or capital planning for the direct costs of genomic medical products and the delivery system that genomic medicine will require.
Participants said,
There just isnt room in my professional life to take on the added burden of becoming knowledgeable about genomics, particularly when the science underlying the fields is so tough to grasp.
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We know intuitively that genomics will have huge impacts, but were just trying to cope with the extraordinary stresses of today. I dont see a compelling reason to do anything much right now.
If we’re waiting for other people to make important decisions about the medical care we receive, it’s not going to happen. Taking advange of the genetic revolution will be in our hands. The more informed we can become, the healthier we can be.
Archives of Internal Medicine, September 12, 2005
Wow. This sounds a lot like what is going on in clinical Oncology, where most Oncologists are literally too busy to keep up with what is going on in cancer research. Unfortunately, patients are suffering because of it.
It sounds like it’s time for a complete rehaul of how we process information and get it to the people who need it most, our doctors!
Cary, You’re absolutely right. I think patients need to stop being passive and must help their doctors figure out the care that is just right for them. Either that or we need some kind of educated patient advocate that can help guide people through the maze. Blogs can make a big difference in this way!