Bioethics Seminar – October 9 – Ethical Issues in Comparative Effectiveness Research

JOIN US FOR A BIOETHICS LECTURE:  Ethical Issues in Comparative Effectiveness Research

Thursday, 9 October, 4:00-5:00 pm, Z. Smith Reynolds Library Auditorium, Room 404, Reynolda Campus, Wake Forest University

ALAN FLEISCHMAN, MD
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics & Clinical Professor of Epidemiology & Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York

Many health care facilities and medical practices are doing more and more research designed to increase understanding of current “standard of care” treatments: how well they work, how much they cost, whether their benefits can be increased and their side effects reduced. Although it seems we should already know the answers to those questions, many medical treatments have been introduced into practice without a lot of formal research, for both historical and practical reasons. Comparative effectiveness research compares different standard treatments to answer some or all of these questions. Yet it has sometimes been controversial, raising questions like “Is this really research, or is it treatment, or both?”, and creating confusion about what is known and not known already, what should be disclosed in the consent form and process, and sometimes whether informed consent is needed at all. Everyone who might in the future be a patient, a research subject, a health care provider, a researcher, or an IRB member should be interested in learning more about ethical issues in comparative effectiveness research.

Reception to follow

For further information about the Bioethics Seminar Series, please contact Stephanie Reitz: <reitzsct@wfu.edu> or 758-4256. Website: http://bioethics.wfu.edu/