Error conceptual en las investigaciones sobre información genética y seguros

Abstract

This article aims to show that some research on genetic information and insurance incur in two significant errors. The first mistake is to confuse the means or tool used to extract the genetic information with the information itself and the second is to mistake the genetic information with the place where the information is contained as a database or a questionnaire. The methodology used to demonstrate this confusion is a qualitative documentary analysis of the research that was found on the subject of genetic information and insurance, highlighting the common confusion in which these research incur when dealing only with genetic testing or the supports in which the genetic information may be contained. The results show a generalized confusion in considering that insurers are interested in genetic testing when in fact they only have interest in the genetic information regardless of the means or tool used to extract this information. Similarly, the support on which the genetic information is contained cannot be equaled with the information itself. The normative regulation that is applied on a database should not be the same regulation that applies to the genetic information that it keeps.