BMJ 1995;311:579-580 (2 September)

Editorials

Primary care for patients at genetic risk

A priority for the European Union's concerted action on genetics services

Gone are the days when general practitioners could believe that genetics had little relevance to patients in their practice. Molecular genetics has thrown up opportunities for prevention, screening, and diagnosis, and the public is keen to have access to them. Indeed, the forces driving community genetics may prove to be the catalysts to a general change in primary care in the 21st century.

The clinical use of genetics should begin with general practitioners, backed by specialists in medical genetics. Primary care teams will need further education, supported by specialist advice, if they are to bring the benefits of genetic advances to their patients. The jargon of risks and probabilities makes medical genetics seem complex and confusing, so the task is challenging.

How, for example, does a general practitioner counsel a woman who has been told in the antenatal clinic . . . [Full text of this article]


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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Fry, A., Campbell, H., Gudmundsdottir, H., Rush, R., Porteous, M., Gorman, D., Cull, A. (1999). GPs' views on their role in cancer genetics services and current practice. Fam Pract 16: 468-474 [Abstract] [Full text]  
  • Hill, R., Stanisstreet, M., Boyes, E., O'Sullivan, H. (1995). Public lacks knowledge about genetic testing and gene therapy. BMJ 311: 1370-1370 [Full text]  
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