Wearing an Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie?
You might want to hurry off and
make one before reading the rest of this post.
Back? OK.
Published in
Volume 75, Number 122 of the Federal Register (June 11th, 2010) is this little tidbit:
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
Request for Information (RFI) on the National Institutes of Health Plan To Develop the Genetic Testing Registry
The last decade has seen tremendous advances in our knowledge of the genomic and genetic factors involved in health and disease. This increased knowledge has been accompanied by a rapid rise in the availability of genetic tests. Although more than 2,000 genetic tests are available, there is no single public resource that provides information about the validity and usefulness of these tests. The NIH believes that transparent access to such information is vital to facilitate research and to enable informed decision making by patients, caregivers, health care providers, clinical laboratory professionals, payers, and policymakers. Therefore, the NIH is initiating the development of the GTR, an online resource that will provide a centralized location for researchers, test developers, and manufacturers to submit information voluntarily about genetic tests, such as their intended use, validity, and utility. The Registry will serve as a resource for health care providers and patients interested in learning about the tests and easily locating laboratories offering particular genetic tests. By using standard identifiers for genetic tests, GTR can facilitate Health Information Technology (HIT) exchange. The GTR will be a repository of information about genetic tests, not a repository of test results.
Now they are very specific to say: "
The GTR will be a repository of information about genetic tests, not a repository of test results." but I have yet to see a government run program that did not fall victim to scope creep.
Is it just me or do I see the potential for a huge security breach?
Posted by DaveH at June 27, 2010 2:18 PM