Informed consent and Huntington disease: a model for communication

American and Canadian professional accreditation standards for medical genetics, and genetic counseling require certain abilities with regard to "communication." What remains unclear is how such standards are to be interpreted in terms of appropriate clinical protocols, objectives, and values. These issues have significant medical and legal implications, particularly with regard to medical malpractice. From the perspective of genetic testing for Huntington disease, this paper identifies those clinical objectives and practices which may be described as constituting the appropriate standard of care for "communication," and informed consent.