AMP cautions consumers about direct access genetic testing

In response to recent announcements about consumer genetic tests being made available in retail drugstores, the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) today reiterated its position that these tests should be provided to the public only through the services of appropriate health care professionals that order tests from laboratories that are certified by CLIA for highcomplexity testing. "Genetic testing continues to be an integral part of health care and there is great potential for future test development and use as long as they are administered properly and interpreted in the context of the overall medical evaluation of each patient," said AMP President, Karen Mann, M.D., Ph.D. "AMP is concerned that these types of direct access genetic tests will mislead consumers by making predictions that are medically unproven or not meaningful and promoting purchase of products not proven to be medically useful."

Source: Association for Molecular Pathology