Undocumented Genetic Testing

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We recently had a ethics class on the ramifications of genetic testing and one of the more worrysome aspects (to me) is that insurance companies and employers could possibly use this information against the patient. Since there are currently laws protecting patients from genetic discrimination, my question is would it be legal to do undocumented genetic testing?
 
We recently had a ethics class on the ramifications of genetic testing and one of the more worrysome aspects (to me) is that insurance companies and employers could possibly use this information against the patient. Since there are currently laws protecting patients from genetic discrimination, my question is would it be legal to do undocumented genetic testing?

What do you mean by undocumented genetic testing? Regardless, it is going to be tough to bill for if you haven't documented it.
 
What do you mean by undocumented genetic testing? Regardless, it is going to be tough to bill for if you haven't documented it.

By undocumented, I mean, lets say someone opens a genetic testing lab that agrees to test look for disease genes (i.e. Huntingtons) without a paper trail that could be linked back to that person. Thus, if the person does have a diseased gene, it can't be used against them by an insurance company.
 
Isn't that why people pay cash for this type of testing--so the insurance companies don't have access to such information?

I dont know, I know that it is illegal for a physician to remove information from a patient's medical record and I know that insurance companies have access to medical records but I don't know if it is illegal to neglect to add something to a medical chart.
 
This sounds surprisingly like the lesson we recently had at my school... you don't go somewhere in the deep south, do you?
 
I dont know, I know that it is illegal for a physician to remove information from a patient's medical record and I know that insurance companies have access to medical records but I don't know if it is illegal to neglect to add something to a medical chart.

I'm under the impression if a patient pays cash for the testing then the insurance company can't get any of this information. My genetics professor indicated that many of her patients pay cash for testing.
 
HIV tests are sometimes done this way. As I understand it, you get a serial number after giving a sample. Then you call in and read them the number to get your results.
 
HIV tests are sometimes done this way. As I understand it, you get a serial number after giving a sample. Then you call in and read them the number to get your results.

Am J Hum Genet. 1996 Feb;58(2):393-7. Links
The need for anonymous genetic counseling and testing.
Mehlman MJ, Kodish ED, Whitehouse P, Zinn AB, Sollitto S, Berger J, Chiao EJ, Dosick MS, Cassidy SB.
Law-Medicine Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Concerns are mounting about the risks of genetic discrimination resulting from the release of predictive and presymptomatic genetic test results to employers, insurers, and others. The ability to keep this information confidential is questionable, particularly in view of the expansion of electronic medical databases. One solution is to afford individuals access to anonymous genetic counseling and testing. Probands would be identified only by a code that would not reveal personal information, and test results would be stored, retrieved, and released solely on the basis of this code. The experience with anonymous HIV testing, while not completely analogous, suggests that such an approach would be both practical and effective.
 
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