01 October 2006
The Society recently response to the Department of Health's three year review of the 2003 White Paper Our inheritance, our future realising the potential of genetics in the NHS. The review aims to assess progress and detail what more needs to be done. The Society's response stated that the area of genetics has developed significantly and is an important part of the future of medical research and practice. The hype surrounding the potential of genetics to affect clinical practice has subsided since 2003 and researchers and clinicians are now more realistic in their perspective of the impact of genetics on healthcare. New diagnostics, treatments and new disease classifications will emerge with increasing frequency but will not change the basics of clinical care overnight.
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The response focused on the future role of pharmacogenetics and highlighted several of the recommendation made in the Society's 2005 report Personalised medicines: hopes and realities. It also commented on current regulations on the licensing of pharmacogenetic drugs and associated tests, education in genetics and the need for the Department of Health to take into consideration the public concerns and expectations of the applications of genetic technology.