News from CORN, Louis J. Elsas, II, MD, CORN President

The Council of Regional Networks for Genetic Services (CORN) has been very productive this past year succeeding in integrating committee activities toward common goals and focusing our energies on data collection and developing guidelines for genetic services.

• We have made great progress on developing national guidelines for genetic services which is highlighted in the CORN sponsored conference on genetic service guidelines. We look forward to the publication of the conference proceedings, including the CORN guidelines, this year.
• We have re-energized data collection on genetic services and streamlined the collection process. We have formalized a relationship with ACT to improve collecting national laboratory data.
• The CORN Ethics Committee's "Code of Ethical Principles for Genetics Professionals" and its explication will soon be published. CORN endorsed the ASHG document "Points to Consider", ethical considerations on genetic testing in children and adolescents.
• CORN is coordinating an interorganizational online Speakers Bureau with ACMG and ASHG.
• Last year's conference, "Early Hospital Discharge: Impact on Newborn Screening", was very successful and timely. CORN has published the conference proceedings and consensus statement.
• We have implemented a CORN World Wide Web site with links to MCHNet, FASEB Genetics pages, and CORN member organizations. We plan to further develop the CORN page with links to committee- developed pages on Birth Defects Surveillance and Folic Acid Educational materials. As member organizations develop WWW pages, we will include links from the CORN page.
• CORN continues to emphasize regional activities. We are working to enhance consumer interests at a national and regional level. I advocate election of consumers onto regional boards.
• CORN's visibility is increasing. We have a clear presence on the NIH/ELSI Task Force on Genetic Testing, COMGO, the Board of Directors of ACMG, and the APHMG.
• CORN continues to develop a Manpower study to determine the country's future need for geneticists.

As President, I plan to capitalize on our momentum and increase interaction and visibility with professional public health organizations. Implementing the CORN guidelines at a state level requires increased collaborative efforts with local and regional public health programs. We will continue to promote national genetics education. CORN is sponsoring an Education Symposium on successful strategies for educating primary care providers this spring. Providing genetic services in a managed care environment concerns all of us. I believe CORN is in a position to be proactive by networking our strategies and facilitating interaction between the regions. Through our services guidelines, CORN can assist states in contracting for genetic services with Medicaid managed care to assure access to care for the underserved population of our country. Medical Genetics faces challenging times, but it holds the potential for great public good. It is the biomedical science which predicts, intervenes and prevents rare and common heritable disease and promotes the public health.