Sharing genetic-risk information is a tricky predicament for doctors
information-saturated age, what happens when the right to know comes up against the right not to know? The ease of genetic testing has brought this question to the fore. Genes, some of which contain disease-causing mutations, are shared within families, meaning the results of a test for a genetic condition inevitably affect more people than the one who consented to be tested.
Initially the case was struck out, on the grounds that letting it go to trial would risk undermining doctor-patient confidentiality. But in 2017 that decision was overturned. The appeal court concluded that situations could arise where a doctor had a duty of disclosure to a patient’s relatives, and that preventing the trial on the grounds that it posed a threat to the doctor-patient relationship was therefore not necessarily in the public interest.
The German case is in some ways the mirror image of the British one. Unlike in Britain, in Germany the right not to know genetic information is protected in law. Nevertheless, in 2011 a doctor informed a woman living in Koblenz that her divorced husband—the doctor’s patient—had tested positive forShe sued the doctor, who had acted with his patient’s consent.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Diverse legal network boosts low-wage women's #MeToo cases'We’re looking for opportunities to lift up women who’ve never been lifted up,' Attorneys who are part of a defense fund inspired by MeToo are fighting for lower-paid workers alleging sexual misconduct.
Read more »
New York Sex-Abuse Law Brings Forth Hundreds of New CasesAn analysis by The Wall Street Journal finds more than 700 lawsuits were filed since Aug. 14, when the state of New York opened a one-year window during which victims of childhood sexual abuse could sue their alleged abusers no matter how long ago the abuse occurred.
Read more »
U.S. travel warning adds to pressure on Tanzania over suspected Ebola casesThe United States has warned its citizens to take extra care when visiting Tanza...
Read more »
Mark Ronson Did Not Know What Sapiosexual Meant, Says He Isn't That After All
Read more »
College student ran a Texas hotel alone during Imelda floodA Texas college student is being lauded as a hero after working a 32-hour-shift alone at a hotel during Tropical Storm Imelda - NBCBLK
Read more »