Ethics
Download a PDF of Chapter 3 - Ethics (172KB)
The following five ethical values are important when considering developments in medical profiling and online medicine:
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Private information should be safeguarded.
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Individuals should be able to pursue their own interests in their own way.
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The state should act to reduce harm.
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Public resources should be used fairly and efficiently.
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Social solidarity (sharing risks and working together to protect the vulnerable) should inform public policy.
Conflicting ethical values
These ethical values often conflict with one another. All are important and no one value ‘trumps’ another.
In the following case studies, we examine the benefits and harms in each situation. We then attempt to ‘soften’ the conflicts between the ethical values by respecting each of them as much as possible and
making recommendations that are evidence-based, proportionate and feasible.
Next: Intervention
Previous: What is ‘personalised healthcare’?
See also
- New resources for teachers: case studies in 'personalised healthcare'
- Education - Teaching resource: case studies in 'personalised healthcare'
- Personalised healthcare - Launch seminar presentations
- Government should do more to help people who use online health services
- Personal genetic profiling services lack evidence for claims
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