The Importance of Genetic Testing for Healthcare Providers

Updated on March 5, 2024

As a healthcare provider, you are constantly striving towards offering the best care possible to your patients. Furthermore, things are continuously changing in this industry, meaning you need to stay up to date with the trends and the developments, aiming at improving the level of care and the quality of the work you’re doing. The modern medicine has started relying on genetic testing with the aim of achieving those goals.

Gaining invaluable insights into certain diseases and into the predispositions of certain individuals to specific diseases can help improve the treatment plans. Having a quick look at the Myriad Genetic Testing services, as well as those offered by similar providers, you’ll realize that those are important in various different areas of medicine. From oncology to mental health, genetic testing can provide you with important data in all the fields.

If you are a healthcare provider yourself, you may be wondering why including genetic testing in your practice is so important. Making a decision on whether to do so certainly isn’t easy, but you’re interested in understanding just how helpful this practice could be. Because, after all, your main goal is to improve the level of care, and if this is something that can make that happen, you’ll certainly be interested in adding it to your practice.

First, What is Genetic Testing?

Before we get to talking about why genetic testing is so important for healthcare providers, let us make sure that you know what the concept actually entails. In the simplest words possible, it is the type of testing that identifies changes, sometimes called variants or mutations, in your DNA. It is used to identify your susceptibility to certain diseases.

As you can see, these types of tests hold great value for the patients. Therefore, they sometimes decide to do it on their own, without the instructions of professionals. But, it is ultimately the professionals that understand the results and that know how to use them to improve the treatment plans and provide the patient with the best care. So, there is no denying the fact that it is of crucial importance for healthcare providers.

Read more on how this practice has changed the understanding of diseases: https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/medical-careers-genetic-screening-and-diagnostics-639/ 

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Why Is It Important for Healthcare Providers?

Now to the big question. Why is this exactly so important for you as a healthcare provider? For various reasons, of course. Below I will list some of those, hoping to make it perfectly clear just how useful these tests can be for your specific practice. So, without any more ado, let us have a look at those.

  • Better Diagnosing

Through identifying the specific gene variations and mutations that are associated with specific conditions and diseases, healthcare providers can make more accurate diagnoses. Analyzing the genetic information of an individual allows you to pinpoint the cause of the symptoms much more successfully. This type of an approach can ultimately reduce the risk of misdiagnosing, which is definitely a huge plus.

  • Better Treatment

Since it reduces the risk of misdiagnosing, we can safely come to one simple conclusion. It also reduces the risk of inappropriate and unsuccessful treatment. Understanding the genetic info of a person will make it easier for you to set up a treatment plan and make it a good one. In short, you’ll be able to create more targeted treatment strategies, which will have a huge positive impact on the overall success of the treatment process. Read more on why it is so significant in advancing precision medicine.

  • Personalized Approach

Patients are happier when they are provided with a personalized care approach, and chances are that they will respond better to treatment due to that as well. Well, what could be more personalized than using their specific genetic material to come up with a treatment plan that will work for them? By understanding the patients’ predispositions, you can tailor the treatment process to them, identifying the most effective medications and procedures that are bound to produce the optimal outcomes.

  • Early Disease Detection & Prevention

We cannot fail to mention that genetic testing plays a crucial role in the early detection and prevention of certain diseases, such as cancer for example. Identifying risks and predispositions leads to implementing proactive screening measures, as well as preventative interventions, so as to reduce the risk of disease development and progression. Intervening at the early stage of a disease leads to improved outcomes, as well as to reduced healthcare costs.

  • Drug Response Prediction

Every single person is different. And, as we all know, everyone can react differently to various types of drugs. Genetic testing can help you predict the response of certain individuals to specific drugs, which allows healthcare providers to choose the medicine that has higher chances of working for their patients, while causing little to no side-effects. In short, it allows you to prescribe medication with better precision.

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The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.