The frontiers of genetics and the transformation of medicine and business

Abstract

The Human Genome Project will revolutionize much of medicine and business. Genetic technologies will let pharmaceutical companies customize products, clinicians predict health outcomes, insurers estimate future health costs, and employers select disease-resistant workers to enhance productivity. However, there are significant costs. Genomic drugs will be expensive, genetically-based insurance underwriting may leave some uninsurable, and genetically-based worker selection may leave some unemployable. Legal protections enacted to date are incomplete, because controlling genetic technologies will require more than new legal rules. It will necessitate rethinking many aspects of medicine and business, including medical data ownership, pharmaceutical development, health insurance, and worker productivity.

Citation

Field, R. (2001), "The frontiers of genetics and the transformation of medicine and business", Farquhar, I., Summers, K. and Sorkin, A. (Ed.) Investing in Health: The Social and Economic Benefits of Health Care Innovation (Research in Human Capital and Development, Vol. 14), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0194-3960(01)14002-3