5 Days after the Quake Critique

I want to know, when everyone got all upset with my review of the Quake paper and bashed me on this blog. Why?

Why did no one post on the Viewpoint put out in The Lancet exactly 5 days after my review?

What did my review say? You can read my analysis of the Quake Paper here.

I will keep this brief, as I will be speaking precisely on this topic on Thursday at the Consumer Genomics Conference.

Maybe no one read the viewpoint?

Today I was able to read the

"Challenges in the clinical application of whole genome sequencing" Viewpoint from Ormond et.al.

It echoes every single thing I have been saying for the last 2 years. Not that any of this is news for those of us in "the know" But it is confirmation that people who include a DIRECT Advisor to 23andMe agree with my stance.

However, there are some things in the paper that I disagree with.

1. "The author assumes that because of the rapidity of cost decline with WGS (whole genome sequencing), that it will be used more and more in Medicine."

I disagree.

Payors, Clinical validity and Exposure to malpractice risk will determine the uptake in the clinic

2. "Reduced sequencing costs seem likely to cause a rise in WGS"

I disagree.

Perhaps in research this will be the case, but for customers, who are now staring down the barrel of an FDA investigation, House of Reps investigation, they may think twice. No matter what Oprah has to say.

3. "even if that information averaged only 3 min per disorder, this process would take more than 5 hours of direct patient contact, after many hours of background research"

I disagree.

The average time per disorder would be at least twice that, meaning ten hours of direct patient care. Which on my clock is about 4000 USD, at least.

4. "As academics, we often assume that information is good and more information is better. but more information can sometimes be counterproductive"

I agree whole heartedly.

I know many excellent academicians who say "Garbage in, Garbage out" or "Information is just that, but Noise is Garbage"

The Sherpa Says: We need to bite things off a piece at a time. That is the problem with whole genomes. People will need to be revealed information in a staged fashion WITH SKILLED CLINICIANS. Nice to see Russ B Altman MD et.al., advisor to 23andMe agree with what I have been saying over the last 3 years now.