The duty to warn genetically at-risk relatives of patients is one of the most misunderstood legal and ethical issues affecting clinical genetics. The legal doctrines are often associated with three state appellate court cases beginning in the mid-1990s. Since the HIPAA Privacy Rule went into effect in 2003, the duty to warn must be accomplished by warning the patient of the genetic nature of a diagnosed disorder or genetic risk and the necessity of warning at-risk relatives. Health-care providers are neither required nor permitted to warn at-risk relatives without the consent of their patients. Having warnings issued by the patient most closely aligns with traditional ethical principles and the interests of the parties. Physicians and other health-care providers can assist their patients by preparing jargon-free explanations of the genetic risk and offering consultation or referral services. In the future, the need for warnings is less likely to be triggered by diagnoses and more likely to be based on predictive information derived from genome sequencing and other technologies and data sources.

中文翻译：

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重新考虑警告有遗传风险的亲属的责任。

警告患者有遗传风险的亲属的责任是影响临床遗传学的最容易被误解的法律和伦理问题之一。法律学说通常与 1990 年代中期开始的三个州上诉法院案件有关。自 HIPAA 隐私规则于 2003 年生效以来，警告义务必须通过警告患者诊断疾病的遗传性质或遗传风险以及警告有风险的亲属的必要性来完成。未经患者同意，医疗保健提供者既不被要求也不被允许警告有风险的亲属。由患者发出警告最符合传统伦理原则和当事人的利益。医生和其他医疗保健提供者可以通过准备对遗传风险的无术语解释并提供咨询或转诊服务来帮助他们的患者。未来，对警告的需求不太可能由诊断触发，而更可能基于来自基因组测序和其他技术和数据源的预测信息。