INTRODUCTION Healthcare databases are useful sources to investigate the epidemiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to assess longitudinal outcomes in patients with COPD, and to develop disease management strategies. However, in order to constitute a reliable source for research, healthcare databases need to be validated. The aim of this protocol is to perform the first system...

BACKGROUND Healthcare facility construction is increasing because of population demand and the need to replace ageing infrastructure. Research suggests that there may be a relationship between healthcare environment and patient care. To date, most evaluations of new healthcare facilities are derived from techniques used in other industries and focus on physical, financial and architectural perf...

Medical practice in the past few decades has been thoroughly influenced by a multitude of factors. Rapid advances in medical technology, the advent of new forms of media, increasing knowledge of patients’ rights, all of these and more have contributed to the way that physicians, patients and society look at the application of clinical ethics in healthcare settings. According to Jonsen et. al. (...

Although increasingly global, data-driven genomics and other 'omics'-focused research hold great promise for health discoveries, current research ethics review systems around the world challenge potential improvements in human health from such research. To overcome this challenge, we propose a 'Safe Harbor Framework for International Ethics Equivalency' that facilitates the harmonization of eth...

Annual conference ESPMH, 2008 XXIInd International Conference of the European Society for Philosophy of Medicine and Healthcare (together with the Centre for Ethics, University of Tartu). Theme: ‘‘European bioethics in a global context’’. Date: August 20–23, 2008. Place: Tartu, Estonia. Abstracts should be submitted before January 1, 2008. For more information: Bert Gordijn, PhD, Secretary of t...

there is a growing global market in healthcare and patients. and while there is a small body of evidence emerging around this phenomenon commonly known as medical tourism there remain significant unanswered policy and research questions which need to be addressed. we outline some of the key issues set against the six key disciplinary preoccupations of the journal: epidemiology, health economics...

Institutional ethics committees remain largely absent from the literature on error reduction and patient safety. In this paper, the author endeavors to fill the gap. As noted in the Hastings Center's recent report, "Promoting Patient Safety," the occurrence of medical error involves complex web of multiple factors. Human misstep is certainly one such factor, but not the only one. This paper bui...

British Journal of General Practice, October 2009 721 REFERENCES 1. Taylor K. Asylum seekers, refugees, and the politics of access to health care: a UK perspective. Br J Gen Pract 2009; 59(567): 765–772. 2. Ashcroft RE. Standing up for the medical rights of asylum seekers. J Med Ethics 2005; 31(3): 125–126. 3. Cole P. Human rights and the national interest: migrants, healthcare and social justi...