Building Genetic Medicine: Breast Cancer, Technology, and the Comparative Politics of Health Care: Breast Cancer, Technology and the Comparative Politics of Health Care (Inside Technology)

In Building Genetic Medicine, Shobita Parthasarathy
shows how, even in an era of globalization, national context is playing an important
role in the development and use of genetic technologies. Focusing on the development
and deployment of genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer (known as BRCA
testing) in the United States and Britain, Parthasarathy develops a comparative
analysis framework in order to investigate how national "toolkits" shape
both regulations and the architectures of technologies and uses this framework to
assess the implications of new genetic technologies. Parthasarathy argues that
differences in the American and British approaches to health care and
commercialization of research led to the establishment of different BRCA services in
the two countries. In Britain, the technology was available through the National
Health Service as an integrated program of counseling and laboratory analysis, and
was viewed as a potentially cost-effective form of preventive care. In the United
States, although BRCA testing was initially offered by a number of providers, one
company eventually became the sole provider of a test available to consumers on
demand. Parthasarathy draws lessons for the future of genetic medicine from these
cross-national differences, and discusses the ways in which comparative case studies
can inform policy-making efforts in science and technology.

In Building Genetic Medicine, Shobita Parthasarathy
shows how, even in an era of globalization, national context is playing an important
role in the development and use of genetic technologies. Focusing on the development
and deployment of genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer (known as BRCA
testing) in the United States and Britain, Parthasarathy develops a comparative
analysis framework in order to investigate how national "toolkits" shape
both regulations and the architectures of technologies and uses this framework to
assess the implications of new genetic technologies. Parthasarathy argues that
differences in the American and British approaches to health care and
commercialization of research led to the establishment of different BRCA services in
the two countries. In Britain, the technology was available through the National
Health Service as an integrated program of counseling and laboratory analysis, and
was viewed as a potentially cost-effective form of preventive care. In the United
States, although BRCA testing was initially offered by a number of providers, one
company eventually became the sole provider of a test available to consumers on
demand. Parthasarathy draws lessons for the future of genetic medicine from these
cross-national differences, and discusses the ways in which comparative case studies
can inform policy-making efforts in science and technology.