Rapid Responses to:

INFORMATION IN PRACTICE: Jon Emery, Robert Walton, Andrew Coulson, David Glasspool, Sue Ziebland, and John Fox Computer support for recording and interpreting family histories of breast and ovarian cancer in primary care (RAGs): qualitative evaluation with simulated patients BMJ 1999; 319: 32-36 [Abstract] [Full text]

Rapid Responses: Submit a response to this article

Rapid Responses published:

Control of interaction after risk assessment

Virginia R Hetrick   (4 July 1999)

Control of interaction after risk assessment

Virginia R Hetrick   (4 July 1999)

Control of interaction after risk assessment 4 July 1999
Virginia R Hetrick, Retired Formerly UCLA Send response to journal: Re: Control of interaction after risk assessment	The lack of control by the treating physician when evaluating the degree to which a patient is deemed to be at risk using one of the computer modelling systems can be simply solved. All that is necessary to be done is have a person from the physician's office enter the data based on history and give a printout to the physician prior to the patient's next appointment. I believe that the greater issue is that these models are just that. Nearly all of these computer modelling systems fail to take into account second and third degree relatives whose data can be expected to result in greater accuracy than the current models. I would expect that, if a genetics counselor worked only data provided by first degree relatives, the counselor could be at a very high risk for malpractice or the equivalent, depending on his/her professional status.
Control of interaction after risk assessment 4 July 1999
Virginia R Hetrick, Retired Formerly UCLA Send response to journal: Re: Control of interaction after risk assessment	The lack of control by the treating physician when evaluating the degree to which a patient is deemed to be at risk using one of the computer modelling systems can be simply solved. All that is necessary to be done is have a person from the physician's office enter the data based on history and give a printout to the physician prior to the patient's next appointment. I believe that the greater issue is that these models are just that. Nearly all of these computer modelling systems fail to take into account second and third degree relatives whose data can be expected to result in greater accuracy than the current models. I would expect that, if a genetics counselor worked only data provided by first degree relatives, the counselor could be at a very high risk for malpractice or the equivalent, depending on his/her professional status.