This week we look at the rapidly advancing field of genomics, which is becoming increasingly relevant to everyday primary care. Emma speaks to Dr Jude Hayward and Dr Imran Rafi, who are the Royal College of GPs’ joint clinical representatives for genomics. Jude is a GP with an extended role in genomic medicine and Imran is a reader in primary care and genomics at St. George's University in London.

Jude and Imran discuss the most significant changes genomics is set to bring over the next decade, including its potential use in predicting risk for common conditions, rise of pharmacogenomics and whether the government’s 10-year plan’s vision for the role of genomics is realistic.

They also talk about some of the practical challenges facing GPs, such as how to handle patients presenting with results from direct-to-consumer genetic tests, the ethical considerations around data and consent, and the importance of ensuring advances in genomics help to narrow rather than widen health inequalities.

And they also explore the opportunities for GPs to develop an extended role in this fascinating area of medicine.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

GeNotes - genomics notes for clinicians

GP with extended role in clinical genetics/genomics - RCGP framework

RCGP eLearning - Genomics toolkit

RCGP position statement on direct to consumer genomics testing

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