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Ethics

The world of healthcare abounds in grey areas. As the lines blur between treatment and research, between innovation and progress, between patient and consumer, ethics must remain at the forefront of healthcare education and information. 

Shocking market approval

Paliperidone, the main active metabolite of risperidone, is now approved for sale in Europe for patients with schizophrenia. Shockingly, this decision was based solely on placebo- controlled trials. Healthcare professionals must be reminded of their responsibility to help patients, and must refuse to prescribe a placebo when an effective drug is available.

Human guinea pigs

A new book details the boom in clinical trials in non-Western countries, as well as the related abuses and ethical lapses. Ethical questions are the same the world over. Patients and healthcare professionals in wealthy countries should not accept that drugs be evaluated by anything short of the highest ethical standards.

Values

The development of OTC drug sales in French pharmacies is just one stage in the long process of deregulating and commodifying healthcare, in the name of "freedom of trade" or "economic growth". It is time to stand up for other values: "patients’ interests," "solidarity", "public health" and professional "independence".

Health spending: a matter of choice

Winter cold: the cost of reducing some effects of social exclusion is modest, especially compared with some health spending whose benefits are sometimes extremely limited.

Distinguishing between research and clinical care

The roles of researchers and clinical care providers clearly differ. Research and development of a laboratory test, along with its marketing, require systematic planning. Similarly, a new screening strategy must be properly evaluated in terms of its expected benefits and potential dangers for patients participating in the screening procedures.