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| Jill Hagenkord, MD, FCAP |
Jill Hagenkord, MD, FCAP, a board-certified molecular genetic pathologist, chief medical officer, InVitae, San Francisco/Palo Alto, Calif, just published a blog post.
She makes a case for physicians embracing the nuances and benefits of genetic testing, for the benefit of patient outcomes and the overall health care bottom line.
Below, an excerpt:
InVitae Blog: Are Physicians Ready For The Tsunami of Genetic Information That Is Headed Towards The Medical Community?
Adapt or Perish: Why All Doctors Will Need To Be Geneticists
[In June] our CEO and cofounder Randy Scott, posted a blog where he talks about moving from a world of Genetic Scarcity to a world of Genetic abundance. What are the implications for medical community?
Lets face it, doctors don’t really know much genetics. Yes, we all have science undergrad degrees and yes, a lifetime ago we all took genetics and biochemistry classes and got A+’s. Then we went to med school and had a 2 week course in genetics that was kind of a “throw away class” wedged into first semester while we were getting our butts kicked in gross anatomy and histology. I remember my genetics class being all math and very little medicine. I took it pass/fail just to get it over with so I could focus on the courses that seemed more relevant. There are always a few genetics questions on every certification exam that we have to take along the way, but most doctors are willing to just get those questions wrong and focus on the topics that are more relevant to the daily practice of their specialty
After you are done with the examination gauntlet, you never needed to know much genetics again…and so what little you retained simply atrophies. Now you have to try hard to remember the difference between DNA and RNA. I get it. But, with the plummeting cost of DNA sequencing there is a tsunami of genetics headed toward the medical community. Resistance is futile. Adapt or perish.
This blog is my attempt to alert doctors that in the new world of genetic abundance, we will all need to be geneticists. Here’s my prediction at how it will evolve.
To read the entire piece, click here.
[Source: InVitae]
