News for Personalised healthcare

Government should do more to help people who use online health services

Press Release

12 October 2010

The Government should do more to help people find trustworthy health websites and use online health services safely and effectively, says a new report on the ethics of ‘personalised healthcare’. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics warns that whilst online health information and services are convenient to use and extend choice, they could mislead, confuse or create unnecessary anxiety for the people who use them.

Personal genetic profiling services lack evidence for claims

Press Release

12 October 2010

Direct-to-consumer personal genetic profiling services that claim to predict people’s health risks by analysing their DNA are often inconclusive and companies that sell them should provide better information about the evidence on which the results are based, says the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, in a new report on the ethics of so-called personalised healthcare services.

Launch of the Nuffield Council report on ‘personalised healthcare'

31 August 2010

Following a two-year inquiry, the Council will publish the report Medical profiling and online medicine: The ethics of 'personalised healthcare' in a consumer age on 12 October 2010.

A public seminar will be held in London to give people the opportunity to discuss the findings with members of the Working Party. Admission is free but places must be booked in advance.

Find out more about the launch seminar

Lords welcome Council's inquiry on medical profiling and online medicine

Press Release

7 July 2009

The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has today published a report on Genomic Medicine, making recommendations for the future use of genetic tests both in the NHS and in the growing private market.

The report comes as the Council is considering the ethical issues raised by advances in genomic medicine as part of its current inquiry on Medical profiling and online healthcare: the ethics of 'personalised healthcare' in a consumer age.

New technologies are cutting the GP out of health care

Press Release

21 April 2009

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics today launched a consultation on the ethics of services and technologies that serve to remove the GP from health care, such as commercial DNA testing and body imaging, and online health care.

Launch of consultation on 'personalised healthcare'

21 April 2009

The Council has launched a public consultation on the ethical issues raised by online healthcare, telemedicine and commercial medical profiling technologies such as DNA testing and body imaging.

These technologies and services are increasingly focused on the individual, and often mean that the GP is no longer involved in health care.