CPH – Bioethics of clinical innovation and unproven methods – by Nordic Committee on Bioethics and University of Copenhagen

Conference organised by the Nordic Committee on Bioethics in collaboration with Centre for Legal Studies in Welfare and Market at the University of Copenhagen, 9 April 2019.

How are clinical innovations and unproven methods developed and introduced in western Nordic health-care systems? What is the legal and regulatory environment concerning unproven methods in medicine? What ethical principles should guide work on emerging treatments and experimentation in hospitals? In the upcoming NCBio-conference, these three questions will each be addressed in separate sessions.

Clinical innovation involves development of new techniques, methods, treatments and diagnostics for detecting, alleviating and curing diseases. By nature novel clinical methods and treatments are unproven when first developed. Through the centuries, medicine has advanced by trials and errors of physicians and researchers experimenting with treatments and methods. The failure of certain methods are inseparable from success of others, because a priori it is hard to know what works and what not. The scientific method is the preferred approach to develop cures and treatments, but many current medical practices were not developed by strict scientific testing or trials. Healthcare professionals may try unproven methods, for instance as a last resort in attempt to safe a life. Such unproven methods for clinics and health care, occur at the intersect of basic research and standard health-care and raise number of bioethical issues. Those include the following issues: Do patients have sufficient and equal access to the experimental methods? Are patients protected from harm when unproven methods are tested? Who should make decisions about when to experiment with a treatment? How can society and the health care system best simultaneously promote clinical innovation and protect patients?

The conference is open to all interested, including medical doctors, health committees in parliaments, senior civil servants and hospital administrators.

Programme

Bioethics of clinical innovation and unproven methods

Registration

For participation in the seminar please use this registration form no later than 2 April 2019 , 12:00.