ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the provision of genetic care in Canada. With the public health effort to flatten the curve, many clinics have moved to virtual care for select populations of patients while triaging and postponing others. As genetic services are asked to gradually resume, a roadmap is needed to ensure clinical care decisions for at-risk patients are transparent and equitable, that postponed care is resumed and that patients with or waiting for a genetic diagnosis are not disproportionately affected or abandoned.The purpose of this document is to highlight the guiding ethical principles and stakeholder considerations in resuming genetic services to help guide the competing needs going forward of both limiting exposures while maintaining high-quality care. Considerations highlighted are (1) environment of practice, (2) nature of consult, (3) patient factors, (4) provider factors, and (5) laboratory factors. The intended users are those providing genetic care in a Canadian context with the recognition that there are clinic-specific and regional variations that will influence decision-making. While specific to the Canadian context, the ethical principles used to guide these decisions would be relevant for consideration in other jurisdictions.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Genetic Services/organization & administration , Genetics, Medical/organization & administration , Canada/epidemiology , Ethics, Medical , Genetic Services/trends , Genetics, Medical/trends , Genotype , Health Policy , Health Services Accessibility , Humans , Pandemics , Quality of Health Care , Risk , Telemedicine/organization & administration , Telemedicine/trends , VideoconferencingSubject(s)
Genetics, Medical/statistics & numerical data , Genome, Human/genetics , Human Genome Project , DNA, Intergenic/genetics , Drug Discovery , Genes/genetics , Genetic Diseases, Inborn/genetics , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Genetics, Medical/trends , History, 21st Century , Human Genome Project/history , Humans , Molecular Targeted Therapy , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics , Proteins/geneticsABSTRACT
In 2021, the genetics and genomics community needs to communicate to policymakers how the field of human genetics and genomics is transforming biomedical research and medicine, including its essential role in combatting COVID-19. This is important for ensuring that policies enable a thriving scientific enterprise and provide resources for research advances.