Bioinformatics is a subfield of medical informatics that deals with molecular biology. It is primarily used in genetics and genomics, specifically in DNA sequencing. Rapid developments in this area of science have led to an enormous amount of information that needs to be entered, organized, and mined for further analysis and sequencing. While the project was technically completed in 2003, analysis of the data is still going on and will continue well into the future.

Using the South University Online Library or the Internet, create a 10- to 12-page report in a Microsoft Word document that answers the following questions:

1. What, in your own words, is human genome project (HGP)? What are its goals? Why is HGP an important part of the evolution of bioinformatics?

2. Which legal and ethical issue will you select from the HGP website for further discussion? Why do you believe that the issue you have selected is of high importance for discussion? What are the criticisms or concerns surrounding this particular issue?

3. What response or solution does the HGP provide for the concerns and criticisms of the above issue? Do they identify any of their own concerns?

4. What role do you think medical informatics professionals should play in addressing such ethical, legal, or social issues?

5. What is personalized medicine? What are the different applications?

6. What are the legal and ethical considerations for personalized medicine, including HIPAA? What types of standards and interoperability issues must be addressed before adopting?

7. What are some of the informatics issues that will need to be addressed in the next ten years?