Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-3091, USA.
Genet Med. 2010 Sep;12(9):544-7. doi: 10.1097/GIM.0b013e3181e71c70.
To properly understand the social impact of direct-to-consumer genetic testing, we must consider the "sociotechnical architectures" of these technologies--how developers design and assemble the human and technical components of individual testing systems to perform specific functions. In particular, the way testing systems perform their main functions--providing access to testing, analyzing genetic material, and conveying test results--influence the technology's utility and the distribution of expertise in the medical system. I illustrate this concept by comparing two systems that offer single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis, a relatively new type of genetic testing. I conclude by exploring how policy officials and other decision makers might intervene in the development of sociotechnical architectures to maximize the benefits of genomic technologies.
为了正确理解直接面向消费者的基因检测的社会影响，我们必须考虑这些技术的“社会技术架构”——开发商如何设计和组装个体测试系统的人和技术组件，以执行特定的功能。特别是，测试系统执行其主要功能的方式——提供测试访问、分析遗传物质和传达测试结果——影响了技术的实用性和医疗系统中专业知识的分布。我通过比较两个提供单核苷酸多态性分析的系统来说明这一概念，单核苷酸多态性分析是一种相对较新的基因检测类型。最后，我探讨了政策制定者和其他决策者如何干预社会技术架构的发展，以最大限度地发挥基因组技术的效益。
