What are the concerns posed by personal data generated by modern medicine?
Molecular medicine employs diagnostic methods to analyse the genetic makeup of a person. Genetic data of a patient are particularly sensitive information. They describe invariable features, they can enable long-term predictions about a person’s health and, in most cases, they also have implications for the patient’s relatives. Some genes or gene variants have been found to be associated with higher risks of developing a certain disease. Data from predictive genetic tests are thus interesting for health insurance companies and employers who may like to know whether their client or worker is prone to developing a severe illness. Discrimination of a person on the basis of her/his genetic data would then be possible. In some countries, the use of genetic data by insurance companies and employers is forbidden by law. Medical science and the development of new treatments rely on the progress in genomics and on the relevance of genetic data for diseases. On the other hand, patients have a rig
