[Requirements for Dealing with Personal Genetic Information in Clinical Practice]

As clinical genetics evolves, we must deal with a considerable amount of genetic information in clinical practice. In this review, I mention important requirements for dealing with personal genetic information in medical care. Firstly, quality assurance of molecular genetic testing is required for quality assurance of genetic information. As most labs. have developed "home brew" tests without analytical and clinical validity, the standardization or automation of genetic tests should be developed. If not, it is recommended that genetic tests are performed with the "Best Practice Guideline". Secondly, the confidentiality of genetic information is required because genetic information may be highly predictive of the future health of an individual and have important implications for the relatives of the person tested. For the same reasons, genetic counseling is required following genetic tests. Finally, genetic test results have to be interpreted and a report compiled, which must be easy to understand for physicians and clients. The number of genome bioinformaticians is very limited in Japan, and more must be immediately trained. On dealing with personal genetic information in clinical practice, many issues still remain, and each issue should be steadily resolved.