Developing technologies for personalized medicine may be misused to popularize the idea that one can infer a person’s genetic makeup from observer-defined or self-reported assignment to a race or ethnic group.

Research is often conducted without the knowledge or consent of those whose tissues are banked and poses possible harms to social groups if information about a few members is unscientifically applied to all.

A poem by Sara Wainscott.

Future innovation in personalized medicine in the United States depends largely upon the regulatory and legal climate and actions taken by the FDA.

Certificates of confidentiality, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, allow researchers to refuse to disclose identifying information about research participants in any civil, legal, or other government proceeding. This level of protection is said to promote enrollment in research studies.

Instead of using race as a shorthand for factors that directly influence health, researchers should investigate those factors themselves.

The physician must help patients understand that all options—further testing, surgery, no action—carry risks and benefits. Disclosing the statistical probability of injury and other possible outcomes might help, but it can also hinder the process.

Balint groups, discussion groups for medical students to reflect on their relationships with patients, are an effective way of investing in the patient-physician relationship.

A survey suggests that there is broad consensus among physicians about the importance of honesty with patients, but there is variation in physicians' behavior in disclosing certain information to patients.

Putting the patient at the heart of decisions is a far more nuanced endeavor than at first it seems.