The Morals and Technique of Medical Innovation
Files
Description
Medical innovation is here with us to stay. So too are its ethical and technical issues. No one would take the line that all innovation should cease because some innovation has unfortunate side effects. No one would take the line that all -medical resources should be devoted to innovative research. The routine treatment of routine cases often reflects the successful innovation of prior generations. Low-cost care that provides quick and certain relief provides the welcome payoff of the sound investments of a previous generation. It is therefore possible to rule out these two extremes quickly. Having said that the hard work has only begun, what should the sound middle position be? To use an analogy, we are quite confident that the optimal level of taxation is neither 0 nor 100 percent. The range of possible rates and tax structures that satisfy these dual constraints defines the problem, not the solution. A similar problem exists with medical innovation. The decision to go forward with medical research in a bounded way also defines a problem, not a solution.
Source Publication
Medical Innovation and Bad Outcomes: Legal, Social, and Ethical Responses
Source Editors/Authors
Mark Siegler
Publication Date
1987
Recommended Citation
Epstein, Richard A., "The Morals and Technique of Medical Innovation" (1987). Faculty Chapters. 415.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/415
