“Incidental Findings in Genomic Medicine:
The Problem with Having Too Much Information"


Michele Gornick, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CBSSM/VA
University of Michigan

3:00-4:00 PM

Room 266C, Building 16
North Campus Research Complex (NCRC)
2800 Plymouth Road

Summary: Both providers and recipients of clinical genome sequencing should be able to adequately anticipate the breadth of health risks and actionable findings that could be discovered through the sequencing process. Yet, incidental findings are unavoidable outcomes of the process of sequencing a patient’s genome. Incidental findings can occur from both clinicians purposefully seeking out ”˜unknown information’ to gain insight into disease etiology and from ”˜unanticipated information’ uncovered as part of genome sequencing performed for another purpose. Challenges in risk communication and medical decision making will likely arise as genome sequencing is used to individually tailor clinical care. These challenges suggest specific informational needs for clinicians and patients, as well as systematic and individual-level interventions to meet those needs.