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Charland, Louis
Charland, Louis
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Abstract
"Paradoxically, the profession whose primary mandate is to instruct and comment on matters of ethics spends inordinately little time reflecting on its own ethical practices. Consider the fact that while professional ethicists of all stripes crusade to expose and denounce conflicts of interests in all other branches of the health care system, they typically fail to pay much attention to their own potential ‘ethical’ conflicts of interest. Admittedly, there have been some efforts to address the problem. However, despite laudable intentions, they are highly unsatisfactory. Unenforceable ‘model’ draft codes of ethics on professional websites, and obscure addenda to technical reports that are only available at a cost, do not constitute acceptable responses to this predicament. This is a problem of profound social importance, a matter that threatens the very foundation, integrity and accountability of one of the most powerful forces in the modern health care system. [...] Most health care professions have codes of ethics or conduct that are meant to govern the behavior of their members. Those codes usually have explicit provisions that address conflicts of interest that are specific to the practice of that profession. What counts as a conflict of interest varies across professions, as do sanctions and disciplinary measures. The nature of conflicts also varies. Some revolve around abuses of power or other kinds of inequalities. Some involve money or other financial interests and incentives. Nonetheless, despite these different varieties of conflicts and interests, it is still possible to venture some general remarks as to why conflicts of interest are thought to be ethically objectionable. [...]", p. 1
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2008-11
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With permission of the license/copyright holder