Medical Ethics 2020: Ethical Challenges of Established and Emerging Medical Technologies

March 20, 2020 -
8:30am to 4:30pm

Abstract: Implementation of available technologies may seem inevitable. Yet the personal, social, legal, and ethical implications of their use can and should be evaluated. Resistance to the so-called technological imperative—'if it can be done, it should be done'—may not involve rejection of a technology, but instead its judicious, carefully evaluated adoption.  

This conference affords participants an opportunity to learn about recent technological developments and to discuss their potential benefits and risks, and ways to mitigate those risks, including what role government regulation should play.  A goal of the conference is to enable participants to make informed choices about employing technological interventions at the individual level and to respond responsibly to technologies being implemented within healthcare systems and society.

Concurrent sessions on ethical challenges arising in:
     - ​Treatment of cancer, sickle cell disease, and conditions requiring long-term care
     - Prevention of suicide, violence, and adverse surgical outcomes
     - Use of the electronic health record, genetic information, and unproven medical treatments

Plenary sessions:

Frankenswine and the Suffering Un-dead: A Bioethical Look at Restoring Function in Post-mortem Pig Brains     
Stephen R. Latham, JD, PhD
Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics
Yale University

Ethics and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Beyond the Hype
Alex John London, PhD
Clara L. West Professor of Ethics and Philosophy
Director of the Center for Ethics and Policy
Carnegie Mellon University

Dilemmas and Disparities: Dialysis Decision-making Among Seriously Ill Patients with Kidney Disease
Nwamaka D. Eneanya, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology
University of Pennsylvania

Full conference program, registration, and continuing education information is available @ bioethics.pitt.edu/medethics2020. Questions may be directed to bioethics@pitt.edu.
 

This activity is approved for the following credit: AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ANCC, ACPE, and ASWB, as well as Continuing Legal Education (CLE).

Co-sponsored by the Ira R. Messer Fund of the Pittsburgh Foundation and the Carnegie Mellon University Center for Ethics & Policy

Location and Address

11th Floor Scaife Hall Conference Center