Robert Klitzman, director of the M.S. in Bioethics program, was recently quoted in a Boston Globe article referring to the use of genetic screening to identify the most effective psychiatric drug for a particular patient.
He described the claims made by companies who administer such tests as “weak,” noting that “conflicts of interest in the field are major problems.”
Dr. Klitzman discussed the close arrangements between testing firms and clinics: these raise questions when clinicians appear to be ordering tests as part of a study for which they receive compensation. “There is a big set of ethical concerns here,” he said. These concerns are especially serious when doctors receive financial incentives and “order tests that have no clear proven benefit.”
Read the full article on genetic screening in mental health on the Boston Globe.
