BMJ 2001;323:1367 ( 8 December )

Letters

Integrating genetics into primary care in practice

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---Emery and Hayflick continued the debate on integrating genetic medicine into primary care.1 We agree that primary care will identify people at genetic risk and help manage known risk not only for the patient but also for other family members. Emery and Hayflick define clear roles for primary care practitioners and draw on qualitative studies to claim that they are accepted roles of primary care.

But they cite only one study and overlook those that challenge their position---for example, Kumar and Gantley, and Elwyn et al. 2 3 In the former general practitioners knowledgeable about genetic advances resisted taking on many of the tasks Emery and Hayflick identify for general practitioners because of ethical dilemmas associated with the therapeutic gap in the context of common cancers. In the latter, practitioners working in deprived communities questioned the validity of unearthing genetic risk issues when other more practical and demand led . . . [Full text of this article]
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Relevant Article

The challenge of integrating genetic medicine into primary care
Jon Emery and Susan Hayflick
BMJ 2001 322: 1027-1030. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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