Ethical and Legal Challenges of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing

Direct-to-consumer genetic testing are marketed directly to customers and provides people access to their genetic information without necessarily involving a healthcare provider or health insurance company. Such tests can be helpful in managing and monitoring people's health, but the ethical and legal issues related to these services are completely new and require a comprehensive consideration. The present paper studies the challenges of such tests by analyzing information collected through the library method. Expanding the scope of such tests, it seems more important than ever the need to educate on such tests, build an appropriate infrastructure, the regulatory systems and designing a framework for DTC-GT companies.