Do we need genetic testing?

Geisinger's genetic screening panel is currently available only to patients in its health system

For years, Jody Christ, 62, struggled to control her high cholesterol. Her doctors encouraged her to exercise, change her diet and lose weight, but none of that ever seemed to lower her numbers.

When her health plan, the Geisinger Health System of Pennsylvania, offered a genetic test that screens for dozens of hereditary diseases, she submitted a saliva sample and awaited the results. The test revealed she had familial hypercholesterolemia, an inherited condition that causes the body to churn out cholesterol. Her doctors followed up with additional medical tests that showed Christ had life-threatening blockages in three coronary arteries, prompting triple