Clinical genetics: yes this time?

Royal Decree 589/2022, dated July 19, regulating “incidental training for health science majors, procedures and criteria for proposing a new title for a health science professional or diploma in a particular field of training, review of that facility, access to and training in specific areas of training; and setting applicable rules On annual exams to access training places in health sciences disciplines. Already published in the Bank of England. Open the application process for a new specialization “By one or more national scientific societies, properly constituted in relation to the corresponding area of ​​specialization in the health sciences, which certify the representation of at least 70% of professionals in that field or by the National Human Resources Committee of the Health System.”

This is it The opportunity that clinical geneticists have been waiting for As rain in May to put an end to decades of claim that Spain is definitively no longer the only European country without official recognition of the specialty.

Hope this process Never end with a new disappointment: Royal Decree 639/2014 on Basic Materials, which approved clinical genetics eight years ago, was rescinded in 2016 by the Supreme Court due to an official flaw. And in 2017, the CISNS Regional Council gave the green light for the specialty to be approved by independent decree, and since then, none.

In May last year, the president of the European Society of Human Genetics, Alexandre Raymond, sent him a Letter to the Minister of Health, Carolina Dariaand supporting “the efforts of the Spanish clinical genetics community to establish a specialty”. He reminded him that “not only is this specialization already in almost all European countries (adopted by 41 countries, for example, Portugal, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy and Finland), but under the auspices of the European Commission (EC) Professional Qualifications Directive and the efforts of our community, it has been establishing European recognition for such specialists. He told him that “at a time when genetics is ubiquitous in society and when the age of personalized medicine is emerging, it is important that one of the largest European countries accept this challenge of modernity.”

On the contrary, this specialty is not yet recognized in our country Access to all kinds of testing, counseling and genetic counseling has been in the SNS portfolio for years And that the role of genetics is essential to the advances already underway in precision medicine.

The specialty of clinical genetics, although not recognized, exists and is growing and developing in every hospital as each of them has been able, which very likely contributed to the generation of unacceptable inequalities in access to An essential service in the case of serious and familial tumors and rare diseases.

And it must be remembered that the government has IMPaCT, the precision medicine infrastructure linked to science and technology, with three programs: predictive medicine, data science and genomic medicine.

Upon approval of the specialization, we hope that the National Committee will be established, which will determine the requirements for obtaining the official title, will assess the needs of specialists and will determine the accreditation conditions for the educational units. With this, from the start, it will start to put the system (mainly information) about the technologies that are being used and will put an end to the fact that everyone knows genetics and can participate and do what they consider to be in this regard.

Doubt arises about What is the identification process for professionals who are already dedicated to clinical genetics.

But step by step: first, legally admit the specialty. And from there, move steadily towards Mainstreaming the quality of personalized medicineMore accurate and efficient in diagnosing, treating and controlling diseases.