Most Genetic Test Are A Scam—Here’s What The Glossy Commercials Don’t Say
Last year, Jasmine, a 36-year-old woman made an appointment worried about her family history of breast cancer. She had saved up to pay for a genetic test because she wanted to do everything she could to be there for her family. But Jasmine’s health story was far more complex.
She worked two part time jobs with no sick time or paid time off. Her neighborhood had no major supermarket or access to fresh produce so most meals were whatever she could grab quickly and cheaply. After work and caring for her family, she had no time left in the day for physical activity or “self care’. All of these caused significant mental and emotional stress year after year with no end in sight.
Jasmine had seen the commercials and blog posts about preventing breast cancer so she took time off work for the appointment but Jasmine’s greatest risks are not related to the genes she was concerned about. And there was far more Jasmine could do to protect her health besides a genetic test.
Over the past decade, genetic testing has been marketed as the cutting edge of preventive medicine and touted by many as “personalized medicine”. Patients are told that decoding DNA is the key to unlocking their individual health. But while genetic tests may not be a scam because they are taking your money with no benefit exchanged, the benefits advertised are actually very few. Genetic testing may provide valuable insights, genetic mutations account for only a small fraction of health outcomes.
Significant research evidence shows a direct link between health outcomes and factors like income, housing, education, food access and quality, transportation, physical safety (social determinants of health (SDOH). Contrary to the robust marketing for genetic and other testing, there are few campaigns and even fewer public policies aimed at making sure these factors are maximized to improve health.
We pour resources into gene sequencing while ignoring the reality that a patient’s living environment has the outsized role in what care they will need and whether they can even access basic care.
To provide effective care, clinicians must consider the patient’s lived environment.
That means:
- Asking structured questions about housing stability, work schedules, transportation, and food access.
- Integrating social data into care planning.
- Recognize the importance of community resources that address risks a medication can’t solve.
- Consider “prescriptions” related to nutrition, physical activity and mental health/stress reduction.
If we want to improve health, we must measure what matters. Genes may whisper risks, but social determinants shout them.
That’s why we built Access Diagnosis—a diagnostic framework that supports clinicians in building evidence-based differentials, and prompts deeper thinking about the broader context of a patient’s life. It does not make clinical decisions but provides a tool to make sure clinicians are gathering ALL the information relevant to get to the right diagnosis. a tool for moving beyond lab values to whole-person care.
If you’re a clinician, educator, or health leader ready to improve the quality of your diagnostic reasoning, I invite you to explore how Access Diagnosis can support your practice. 👉Learn more about Access Diagnosis here