Direct-to-consumer genotyping: are we ready for a brave new world?

Although the majority of all clinical testing is performed in a central laboratory environment within the hospital or reference laboratory, there is a growing trend to provide laboratory results in near-patient or point-of-care testing environments. In addition, there is growing evidence of testing being performed outside of a healthcare facility, with sample collection and/or testing being performed by the patient in an at-home setting. For waived, low-complexity testing, this approach may be appropriate; however, direct-toconsumer (DTC) marketing has also made highly complex testing available to the consumer via selfcollection of a buccal (cheek) swab and routine mailing to specialized laboratories for genetic testing and risk assessment. We asked 5 professionals representing academic clinical laboratories, medical genetics subspecialties, and DTC laboratories to comment on this growing trend.