Service FAQs

Here are the key steps in the process:

• Sign up for Navigenics’ services through your physician or corporate wellness program. To find out if Navigenics services are available through your physician or employer, contact our Member Service team by emailing memberservice@navigenics.com or calling (866) 522-1585 / +1 (650) 585-7743 between the hours of 9am and 5pm, Monday through Friday.  
• After you order the Navigenics genetic analysis services, we send you a kit.
• The kit includes detailed instructions, a saliva collection vial and materials for shipping the vial to our laboratory for testing.
• The laboratory analyzes your DNA sample and reveals your risk markers. Navigenics will then analyze your genetic risk for certain health conditions and medication reactions.
• We create a personalized report, via our secure website, which is available for your review in two to three weeks.
• In your report, we'll describe options for acting on your results and working with your doctor.
• You and your doctor may may also be able to use your results to tailor your healthcare strategies and medication choices to your genetic makeup.
• As a part of our service, you have the option to review your results by telephone with one of our board-certified Genetic Counselors. Genetic counseling is included in our service at no additional cost.
• We'll continue to add new discoveries to your results for as long as you subscribe. We'll analyze these updates against your genetic information and alert you to what we've found.

Our current list includes heart disease, diabetes and various cancers, plus lesser-known but important conditions for which you may be at risk. Our list of conditions will grow as the science advances.

From common medications such as drugs designed to lower cholesterol or prevent blood clots, to more specialized drugs used to treat cancer or epilepsy, you can discover your predispositions for side effects or reduced effectiveness to a variety of drugs. See the complete list of medications we cover >

The Medications panel analyzes your DNA for genetic markers that are known to affect how your body might process certain pharmaceutical drugs. In some cases, your genetic code can indicate whether you are likely to experience severe side effects with a particular drug, and in other cases whether the drug is likely to be effective for you. By knowing how you are likely to respond to certain medications, you and your doctor can work together to make medication choices tailored for you.

Some states may require a licensed physician to order the genetic test and, in some cases, may also require that genetic test results be released only to the ordering physician. Navigenics contracts with licensed physicians to satisfy these legal requirements. (However, these interactions are not intended to create, nor do they create, any doctor-patient relationship between you and the ordering physician.) To protect your privacy, these physicians never see any of your personally identifiable information, such as your name, address or phone number.

Your doctor can order this test for you. Navigenics works with many physicians who use our service in their practice. If your doctor does not order this test for you, we encourage you to work with your doctor once you've received your results.

That choice is up to you. Before you view your results for the first time, we'll ask you whether you want to pick and choose the health conditions we tell you about. Then you can go into your profile and adjust the conditions you want displayed in your Navigenics results report at any time.

Generally not, at this time. If you have a healthcare flexible spending account, the cost of the Navigenics genetic testing may be reimbursable. Check with your plan to be sure.

Because so many common health conditions don't make themselves apparent until after age 65 or so, older generations can still benefit from knowing their genetic predispositions.

Most of the conditions reported in the Navigenics genetic testing service are adult-onset. Navigenics does not test individuals under the age of 18.

The genetic markers we examine have been chosen for their medical usefulness, not for their value in clarifying family trees. Genealogists use a different type of marker that varies more from person to person.

We are on top of it. We continually monitor the scientific research about markers for these health conditions.

As a a member of our Navigenics Health Compass services, we refine your results as new science becomes available. As long as you maintain a current membership, you will be able to receive these updates.

Most genetic test results will be available within two to three weeks of sample submission. Occasionally, genetic results may take longer. We will alert you if there are any delays in processing your DNA sample.

As we add health conditions and medication responses to our genetic analysis, we will update members of our Navigenics Health Compass genetic testing service with their new results. As long as you maintain a current membership, you will be able to receive these ongoing genetic updates.

At this time, Navigenics does not recommend our testing for any individual who has received a bone marrow transplant. People whom have undergone a bone marrow transplant (or allogeneic blood stem cell transplantation) carry both their own DNA and the DNA of the marrow donor. In most cases a DNA sample from saliva, such as that used by Navigenics, would contain a mixture of both lines of DNA, thereby making the results inaccurate for any single person.
 

Navigenics genetic analysis services are available through physicians and corporate wellness programs, and pricing may vary. Please contact Member Services to find out more about the special rate made available to you through your physician or employer. All Navigenics services include unlimited support from our board-certified genetic counselors.

Yes, most Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts will reimburse you for your Navigenics genetic analysis. You can either use your FSA or HSA credit card to make the purchase, or you can submit a receipt to your FSA or HSA claims department after your purchase.

To obtain your FSA receipt after you enroll, please go to the “Order History” page within the “My Account” section of your online membership. From there, please click “View FSA receipt,” print your receipt, and send it to your FSA or HSA administrator for reimbursement.

If you have any questions, please contact Member Service by email at memberservice@navigenics.com or by phone at (866) 522-1585 or (650) 585-7743 from 9AM to 5PM PST.

 

Your counselor will have confidential access to your Navigenics results, so you can quickly refer to them together.

Yes, our Genetic Counselors adhere to a code of ethics that includes maintaining the highest levels of privacy and confidentiality. (More information about this is available from the National Society of Genetic Counselors.)

You can schedule an appointment to speak with a Navigenics Genetic Counselor at any time. Call (866) 522-1585 (US and Canada) or +1 (650) 585-585-7743 to make your appointment. You may speak with your Genetic Counselor as many times as you need to.

Navigenics provides your results to you directly; you decide whom you share them with. Should you decide to share them with your doctor, this may result in the information becoming part of your permanent medical record and being shared with your insurance company. Discuss this concern with your doctor and agree on an approach that's comfortable for both of you. Ask your doctor whether you can speak more generally about the health conditions or medications that concern you, for example, without referring to your actual genetic report or having a copy of it placed in your doctor’s files.

If you are choosing to enroll in our genetic analysis service through your physician, discuss any privacy or record-keeping concerns you may have with your doctor before your genetic results consultation. Your physician can help you find an approach that is comfortable for both of you.

It is also important to note that a recent federal law, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, prohibits genetic discrimination in the areas of employment and health insurance. Even if your genetic results were to enter your medical records, health insurers cannot use this information to deny you coverage or set the price you pay for it. Learn more about your legal rights. >

Unless compelled by a law or court order, Navigenics will not share your personally identifiable genetic information without your permission. In the unlikely event that Navigenics becomes legally required to disclose any of your personally identifiable information (as might be required to satisfy a court order or subpoena), we will use reasonable and lawful efforts to limit the scope of any such disclosure. We will also make every attempt to notify you in advance if we are legally permitted to do so, as stated in our Privacy Policy. Read our privacy policy. >

At a later date, you may be asked by insurers to disclose your own results in future applications for certain types of health-related insurance, such as medical or life insurance. Failure to disclose such information could result in denial of your insurance application or later denial of payment of a claim by some types of insurers. It is important to note, however, that a recent federal law, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, prohibits genetic discrimination in the areas of employment and health insurance. Even if a health insurance company were to ask about your genetic information, the insurer cannot use this information to deny you health coverage or set the price you pay for it. Learn more about your legal rights. >

There currently are no federal laws protecting you from discrimination by life, disability, and long-term care insurance providers. But at least 15 states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey, have passed their own laws restricting genetic discrimination in some or all of these areas of insurance. See a summary of laws in each state. >

Many of us also receive some or all of these types of insurance through our employer. In these types of group coverage situations, insurers do not often ask for detailed personal health information during an individual’s application process.

If you choose to apply for any of these types of insurance on an individual basis, you may be asked about genetic testing or disclosing your own genetic results. At this time, it is more likely that you will be asked about your family medical history as a way of discussing any inherited health risks. If you were to be asked about genetic testing or genetic information, however, failure to disclose such information could result in denial of your insurance application or later denial of payment of a claim, unless you live in a state with laws restricting genetic discrimination in these forms of insurance.  

Your DNA sample may be retained by the testing laboratory for up to one year after your saliva sample is processed, at which time your sample will be destroyed. Please see our Informed Consent for more details. >

Navigenics has established methods to make sure that the integrity of your sample is maintained by the use of unique identifiers on the sample tube. The CLIA-certified laboratory we use has strict quality control procedures and lab methods to maintain integrity. The laboratory methods that we use to determine your specific genetic signature at each risk marker undergo extensive laboratory validation to ensure that they are accurate and reproducible.

Navigenics examines your DNA with the aim of analyzing and reporting on each of these markers. For most of our customers, this analysis provides a complete report on all of the genetic markers we currently test for. If our initial analysis does not provide a result for one of your markers, we will reanalyze your DNA with the aim of achieving the most complete results possible with our service.

Occasionally, the test will not be able to determine your result at a particular marker, even in the absence of any laboratory or sample collection errors that are a normal part of the genetic analysis process. If we need additional DNA to analyze, Navigenics works with you to obtain an additional saliva sample and repeat the genetic analysis to try to provide the most complete results possible with our service.

The Navigenics laboratory works to provide the genetic results possible with our service, but in some cases, due to factors beyond our control, such as factors inherent in some samples or some people’s DNA, the repeat testing will not provide additional information. In that case, the marker will not be included in your risk estimate.

As long as it is at room temperature, it should last for several days. Shipping it immediately ensures the best possible outcome.

Wait to collect your DNA sample until you are feeling healthy. While being ill does not affect the makeup of your DNA, it can lessen the amount of DNA available in your saliva.

Navigenics' clinically guided genetic analysis services are available through physicians and corporate wellness programs. You can work with your doctor to sign up for Navigenics’ services, or find a physician near you. If your employer has made Navigenics services part of its wellness program you may be able to order online or at an onsite health clinic, depending on the company. Still have questions on how to get started? Contact Member Service at (866) 522-1585 (US and Canada) or +1 (650) 585-7743.

A growing number of doctors have integrated Navigenics’ services into their medical practices. Our genetic analysis services are available through the physicians listed here. These physicians have completed training on integrating Navigenics’ genetic testing services into their practice.

A growing number of companies have made Navigenics’ services available to their employees through their corporate wellness programs. To find out if Navigenics’ services are available to you, please contact Navigenics Member Service at at (866) 522-1585 (US and Canada) or +1 (650) 585-7743.

Member Service is available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday, and genetic counseling is available by appointment, at your convenience.

Call (866) 522-1585 (US and Canada) or +1 (650) 585-585-7743 to make your appointment. You can leave a message in our mailbox, and we'll contact you the next business day. If it is urgent, your call will be routed to a service that can contact a Genetic Counselor. PLEASE CALL YOUR DOCTOR OR 911 IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY.

Not at this time. To ensure the privacy and security of your information, we only take orders via this website or through your physician.

Yes. In addition to the United States, we now provide our services through physicians and wellness programs in countries around the world. See the full list of countries we serve >

Yes, you will need to create an individual order for each person, and each of them needs to complete the Informed Consent process and agree to the Terms and Conditions.

If we have not mailed out your collection kit, there is no cancellation fee.  If we have mailed your collection kit to you and your DNA sample has not yet been mailed back to our laboratory a refund is available - less a $50 cancellation fee for domestic orders or $100 for international orders. No refunds are available once you send your DNA sample to our lab. See our cancellation and refund policy >

The State of Maryland requires that all genetic services and tests be ordered by a physician on behalf of residents. Learn more >

To change your email address, member name or password, please log into our website and click on "Manage Profile." To change your phone number or address, please call Member Service at (866) 522-1585 (US and Canada) or +1 (650) 585-7743.

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