Ethical principles in unproven methods – is there a need for regulations? - Ingemar Engström

"Ethical principles in unproven methods – is there a need for regulations?"
Talk by Professor Ingemar Engström, School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Sweden and member of the Nordic Committee on Bioethics. From the session "What ethical principles should guide work on emerging treatments and experimentation in hospitals?" at the NCBio conference Bioethics of clinical innovation and unproven methods, Copenhagen, 9 April 2019.

Abstract: In this talk, two Swedish documents on ethical aspects on unproven methods (clinical innovation) are presented. Fundamental ethical principles that have to be taken into account if such methods are to be used in clinical medicine will be discussed. The reports look at ethical value conflicts that can arise when unproven methods are used in health care. Both reports conclude that it is ethically acceptable to provide unproven methods outside research projects under some strictly defined preconditions. In Sweden, this area is not satisfactorily legally regulated. A better regulation should therefore be prioritized.