Health care and disease prevention through genetic counseling: a regional approach.

The Colorado-Wyoming Regional Genetic Counseling Program has demonstrated the feasibility and utility of providing genetic counseling services over a very large area of the Rocky Mountain Region. A basis for preventing genetic and congenital disorders has been established and the patient care provided has been as comprehensive, sophisticated and effective as for any genetic counseling clinic operating in a medical center, with the added advantage of being accessible to a much larger and less financially able patient population. Utilization data and consumer assessment of the values of this service confirm these impressions.