News Feed Discussions The Nuremberg Code and the ethics of the secret ‘Kang Repair’ Reply To: The Nuremberg Code and the ethics of the secret ‘Kang Repair’

  • Good intentions

    Member
    January 27, 2023 at 5:22 pm

    It’s an interesting topic. But I think that Herniated is really stretching things to imply that Dr. Kang’s work is similar in any way to the Nazi experiments of WW2.

    It would be more proper to say that it might be unethical to hold back his knowledge if he has evidence that it is better than prevailing practice. If he has a better way he should share it so that society as a whole can benefit. But, of course, in today’s world there are many that might corrupt his method, like many have done with the Bassini and Shouldice procedures. “Modified” for speed or ease or some other reason, leading to poor results from something that is not what he intended.

    If you really want to see how a large professional organization can twist in the wind of ethics, read the SAGES statement about new technologies and techniques.

    https://www.sages.org/publications/guidelines/ethical-considerations-regarding-implementation-new-technologies-techniques-surgery/

    They end the statement with a wishy-washy acknowledgment that market forces might be competing against individual patient welfare.

    “Balancing Responsibilities to Patients and Society

    Finally, the cost and value of new technologies, to each of the many constituents in healthcare, must be addressed. Forces impacting health care and its delivery are increasingly important, particularly now as the US transitions to a national health care system. (30,31) At times however, a physician’s responsibility to advocate for individual patients on the one hand, and honor the responsibility to society for stewardship of finite resources on the other hand, may be competing considerations. Physicians do have responsibilities to both, as pointed out by the ACS in its “Code of Professional Conduct” and by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) in its Physician Charter on “Medical Professionalism in the New Millennium”. (32,33) To guide physicians struggling with conflicting responsibilities, the ABIM establishes the following principle: “Principle of primacy of patient welfare…Market forces, societal pressures, and administrative exigencies must not compromise this principle”.