Service FAQs

Here are the key steps in the process:

• After you order the Navigenics genetic test 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 common health conditions.
• We send you a personalized report, via our secure website, which is available for your review in three to four weeks.
• In your report, we'll describe options for acting on your genetic test results and working with your doctor.
• In some cases, you can make lifestyle changes to help prevent the health conditions. In others, you may need to get screened early or simply heighten your awareness of potential symptoms, helping shorten the time from first symptoms to diagnosis to getting treatment.
• As a part of our genetic testing service, you have the option to review your results by telephone with a Navigenics Genetic Counselor.
• If you are a member of our Navigenics Health Compass testing service, we'll add new discoveries to your results, analyze them against your genetic code, 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.

That's fine. During the purchase process 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 genetic test 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 genetic testing plan, we refine your genetic test 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 three to four 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 to our genetic testing service, 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.

(Please note: If you are a member of our Annual Insight service, you have access to your genetic results report for an entire year, but you do not receive these updates.)

The initial fee for Navigenics Health Compass is $999, which includes our premium genetic analysis, the first 12-month membership, and unlimited genetic counseling. Subsequent years will cost $199 per year for ongoing access and continued genetic and health updates based on the latest science.

Yes, most Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts will reimburse you for your Navigenics genetic test purchase.  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. After you enroll, please print out your FSA receipt and send it to your FSA provider for reimbursement.

 

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 genetic test 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 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 testing 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.

You can place an order for a genetic test on this site at any time. 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 serve a wide variety of countries around the world, including Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, UAE-Dubai, and the United Kingdom. See the full list of countries we serve >

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. Follow these simple instructions to place an order and get your physician's approval.

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) 585-585-7743.

This could occur for a number of reasons. It might be a browser or operating system issue. Our site is optimized for Windows Vista or Windows XP running Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 3.0, and Mac OSX 10.5 running Firefox 3.0. Internet Explorer 6 will also work. It may be necessary to upgrade your computer's operating system and browser. We offer limited technical support, but you can contact Member Service and we can try to help you resolve the issue.