By Daniel Sokol In a highly publicised case, Dr Arora – a general practitioner – was suspended for a month after the Medical Practitioners Tribunal deemed her dishonest for telling a medical colleague that she had been promised a laptop when no such promise had been made. The Tribunal noted that Dr Arora’s exaggeration brought […]
Latest articles
Mandating flu jab, but not COVID-19 jab, ethically justified for healthcare staff
Press release Few side effects; cuts infection risks; minimises staff shortages and presenteeism And professional obligations to patients trump personal freedom, argue ethicists Mandating the flu jab for healthcare staff is ethically justified, but the same can’t be said of the COVID-19 jab, argue leading ethicists in an extended essay published online in the Journal of […]
Too much or too little? A summary of the forum on financial incentives to participants in health and breastfeeding research
By Rasita Vinay and Annina Bauer. On 13th April 2022, the third webinar for the Forum of Global Health Ethics webinar series took place, focusing on the issue of offering financial incentives to participants in health and breastfeeding research. Offering financial incentives to research participants is a common practice in health research; however, its use […]
How much should you trust research ethicists’ warnings about public distrust?
By Nir Eyal In many places around the world, declining levels of public trust in health officials, medical advice, and medical products are causing damages to personal and public health. For example, distrust is a major contributor to the low uptake of COVID-19 vaccination in many countries. Understandably, bioethicists seek to heed the potential of […]
Multifetal pregnancy reduction – why would you do it?
By Gregory K Pike. Multifetal Pregnancy Reduction (MFPR) was initially a response to the high incidence of multiples in Assisted Reproductive Technology. It has even been called “an integral fail-safe of infertility practice”. Its goal was, and mostly still is, to improve outcomes by terminating some fetuses in a multiple pregnancy, on the grounds that […]
When context calls: EFBRI – An Evolving Ethical Framework Informing Breastfeeding Research and Interventions
By Michaela Hefti and Rasita Vinay. Currently, there are no specific ethics guidelines informing biomedical research in breastfeeding and lactation – despite the potentially vulnerable populations involved. On 10 March 2022, EFBRI – An Evolving Ethical Framework Informing Breastfeeding Research and Interventions, was introduced via a LactaWebinar to address this gap and discuss the practical […]
Don’t stop now: Continuing global engagement on pandemic policy
By Nancy S. Jecker, Caesar A. Atuire With rare exceptions, many people around the world have gleefully shed masks and with them, any lingering concerns about catching the novel coronavirus. Maskless and nonchalant, we are boarding planes, shopping, showing up at parties, enjoying entertainment, and going to in-person classes. Proof of vaccination has also fallen […]
Law and Ethics: ‘Basic Science’
By Robert Wheeler Following the foundation of a Clinical Ethics Committee (CEC) in Southampton in 2002 by Dr Tom Woodcock, we have dealt with a steady trickle of cases posing significant ethical and legal questions concerning management of individual patients. It gradually dawned on us that many less contentious (but nonetheless relevant) enquiries were not […]
Imagination and idealism beyond the disease-control paradigm
By Colin Farrelly The World Health Organization has designated the decade 2021-2030 as the “Decade of Healthy Ageing”. And the United Nations estimates that the 703 million persons aged 65 years or over in 2019 will double by 2050. I believe the aging of humanity is one of the most significant developments of the 21st century. […]
Seeing surgeons to safety
By Edwin Jesudason. Surgeons around the world are videoing their operations to present innovations to their peers at academic meetings. In my paper, I argue that they and their hospitals have an ethical duty to protect patients, which should require the routine videoing of surgery as long as the patient consents. This would provide something […]