When Do Family Members Have a Right to Know Genetic Information About a Patient?

Because genetic information about a patient may have implications for other family members, physicians or genetic counselors may find themselves struggling between the duty to respect patient confidentiality and the felt obligation to disclose important information to a family member of a patient. Whether family members have a right to this information is a source of vigorous debate. A patient may have an interest in maintaining the confidentiality of his or her genetic inheritance, even from family members. The usual perception of the patient and various relatives as separate parties may result in a doctor-patient relationship which focuses only on the patient’s wishes while excluding any consideration of interests other members of the family might have in that genetic information. This article from the School of Law, Netanya Academic College, Tel-Aviv, Israel, suggests an alternative, …