Bioethics Through the Lens of a Pandemic

The pace of a medical crisis (not only a pandemic like coronavirus, but a more focal but lethal outbreak like Ebola) leaves little time for consideration of ethical issues that underpin our healthcare system. For example, how and by whom are decisions made on the use of experimental agents or the off label usage of approved products, when neither safety or efficacy are fully understood? Is “trying something” always better than “doing nothing?” This session will cover issues faced during life-threatening medical emergencies including the need for clinical trials, the kinds of trials, how to control hype and intentionally misleading statements, informed consent, the role of IRBs, the collection and reporting of data during and after the crisis, among other topics. The perspective will be from both the US healthcare system as well as from an international view, given the diversity of healthcare systems around the world.