By Hilary Bowman-Smart, Christin Hempeler. The long-standing political and social debate around abortion has experienced a resurgence in many countries. Over the 20th century, significant progress has been made on reproductive rights, including access to abortion services. However, recent years have seen much of that progress falter or slide backwards. We saw the fall of […]
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Weighing informed consent: COVID and Zambian HIV testing
By Benjamin Ferguson, Golden Mwinsa, Kasoka Kasoka, and Frances Griffiths UNAIDS 2023 figures estimate the incidence of HIV/AIDS in Zambia at 9.8%, one of the highest rates in the world. However, the country has made significant progress, halving infections over the past 25 years. Zambia now meets two of UNAIDS three 95% goals: 98% […]
Are ‘AI doctors’ becoming more transparent than human ones?
By Hazem Zohny A major worry with AI in healthcare is the ‘black box’ problem: deep learning AIs reach conclusions without explaining how. In healthcare, where trust is essential, this is a serious problem. Recent AI developments challenge this worry. One example is Google’s Articulate Medical Intelligence Explorer (AMIE), an LLM-based system for clinical conversations […]
Deter or care? Dual loyalty conflict in Australia’s immigration detention centres
By Ebony Birchall. Healthcare professionals engaged in Australian immigration detention have publicly advocated against the use of detention for over three decades. The Australian Government’s policy of mandatory and prolonged detention is designed to deter asylum seekers from coming to Australia by boat. However, this policy is controversial as prolonged detention of asylum seekers has […]
Unequal access to reprogenetic cognitive enhancement due to consistently high costs
By Alexis Heng Boon Chin and Sayyed Mohamed Muhsin. A survey study by Haining et al. reported a significantly higher approval rating of human cognitive enhancement with reprogenetic technologies such as polygenic embryo screening and germline gene editing among Singaporean versus American respondents. The intensely competitive educational landscape in East Asian Confucian societies such as Singapore is […]
Opportunities Lie Within Beqvez’s Discontinuation
By Rafael Escandon Pfizer announced, surprisingly, on February 20, that they plan to discontinue commercial availability of Beqvez, their recently approved gene therapy (GT) for Hemophilia B. They also announced, in separate communications in mid and late 2024, their terminations of investments in a partnership for a Hemophilia A GT, and their discontinuation of a […]
Safeguarding Patient Data in AI-Driven Healthcare: The Trust-Access Dilemma
By Seyed Amir Ahmad Safavi-Naini In an age where artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming medicine, patient data is more valuable than ever. Open-access initiatives have revolutionized research by fostering collaboration and accelerating innovation. However, they also pose profound ethical challenges, particularly regarding patient consent and the commercialization of data. As we navigate this complex landscape, […]
The USA’s Food and Drug Administration and informed consent
By Hugh Davies The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) initiative Over the last three decades seeking consent of patients or volunteers to join a medical research study has become dominated by an increasingly lengthy, opaque and Participant Information Sheet (PIS), shielding the researcher from liability. The FDA argues that Informed consent documents are often long, […]
Simulated empathy in surgical informed consent: Should AI comfort patients or just inform them?
By Pranab Rudra. The use of AI in healthcare is rapidly expanding, raising critical ethical questions about its role in informed consent, a process that relies not only on clear, accurate information but also on genuine human connection. This focus is crucial because informed consent is both an informational and an emotional interaction, and any […]
The doctor will speak as you prefer? How AI could personalize medical communication
By Hazem Zohny, Jemima Winfried Allen, Dominic Wilkinson, and Julian Savulescu. When you go to the doctor, there’s little telling what kind of communicator you’ll get. Some doctors are on the paternalistic side, telling you what you should do without much discussion. Others just give you the facts and leave the decision entirely to you. […]