In the news Helping physicians understand genetic risk The
American College of Preventative Medicine (ACPM) is developing a
continuing medical education programme entitled: Genetic Risk,
Screening and Intervention. The course is aimed at improving
physicians’ understanding of “genetic risk factors for disease,
the current evidence about the use of genomic tools and
technologies to determine risk, and promising practices for
utilizing those tools to aid in disease prevention” (see press
release). Components of the course include comparing and
contrasting the evidence for genetic screening and risk factors
to epidemiological approaches to identify disease risk,
exploring the harms and benefits of different types of genetic
tests and examine the evidence around genome wide association
(GWA) studies. Risk prediction based on genetic factors,
especially for common complex disorders such as diabetes is
complex process (see previous news). Physicians are increasingly
required to understand emerging genetic technolog