The Major Ethical, Legal Social Implications Concerns Related to Genetic Screening

General Physiological and Pathophysiological concepts
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Genetic screening involves testing for a human DNA to discover genetic differences that may prove mental illness. Initially only a few genetic tests existed but today, there are more than 700 different genetic tests available. Concerns regarding the use and potential misuse of genetic information have risen and for decades many ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) have been raised. For the screening to be done appropriately the issues should be discussed with the patient first, to inform them about the risks and the benefits (Nelms 2015). This paper will provide a brief overview of the major (ELSI) concerns related to genetic screening.
Discussion on the major ethical, legal social implications (ELSI) issues related to genetic testing include: Communicating the test results with the patients and ensuring they understand the information provided from the genetic screening in an understandable way. The results should only be disclosed to those individuals whom the test recipient has given permission. The patient is encouraged to discuss the genetic tests with their health professionals and should be cautious when considering direct-to-consumer since some of these companies offer wrong tests and their laboratories may not be certified. The genetic results may have implications for the family members of the patient. However since the health care providers are responsible for the person being tested, disclosing the results to the family members without permission from the patient is wrong. But if the health professional thinks the family members could as well be at risk, the patient is advised to discuss the results with the family members. Genetic results need to be filed in order to track a patient’s medical history, so patients shoul...