Addressing ethical challenges at the intersection of pharmacogenomics and primary care using deliberative...

Primary care physicians will play a central role in the successful implementation of pharmacogenomics (PGx); however, important challenges remain. We explored the perspectives of stakeholders on key challenges of the PGx translation process in primary care using deliberative consultations.

Primary care physicians, patients and policy-makers attended deliberations, where they discussed four ethical questions raised by PGx research and implementation in the primary care context.

Stakeholders voiced skepticism regarding PGx funding, commercialization, regulation, maintenance of an equal access healthcare system and restructuring of health research incentives and priorities in the public sector.

Deliberants developed governing principles for a PGx-specific charter of ethics, aiming to protect the interests of patients, and outlined recommendations for the future of PGx in primary care.