Members of the general public have historically turned to their primary care physicians with questions about inheritable conditions. As the availablility of genetic tests increases and direct-to-consumer advertising of genetic tests becomes more pervasive, family physicians should expect:

• an increase in the number of requests for genetic tests from their patients;
• an increase in the usage of genetic tests for health care planning and decision making;
• an increase in the number of patients who order and interpret genetic tests without consulting their doctor

Today’s family physicians need to know not just about the availability and reliability of specific genetic tests but also to understand the implications of their use. These will include:

• genetic testing for untreatable conditions;
• requests for prenatal diagnosis of adult-onset inherited conditions;
• when to test and who should pay;
• misperceptions about genetic privacy, informed consent, use of health information records and DNA (tissue samples);
• the ability of Federal and state statutes to protect patients from possible insurance and/or workplace discrimination;
• implications of genetic testing for the families;
• doctors must help patients make difficult treatment decisions based on incomplete or uncertain information about future conditions.