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Biomedical subjects

G J Annas

Publications and source records attributed to G J Annas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Risky business: setting public health policy for HIV-infected health care professionals.

An analysis of the restrictive proposals provoked by the case of Kimberly Bergalis and four other patients apparently infected with HIV during the course of dental treatment reveals that they resulted from an inability to evaluate appropriately the infinitesimal risk of HIV transmission from practitioner to patient. The proposals also resulted from an effort to create risk prevention policy without appreciating the distinction between regulating things or procedures, which have no human rights, and regulating people, who have rights that should not be infringed without serious justification. This analysis demonstrates that the proposed restrictive policies are not justified because they do nothing to prevent the spread of HIV, and they cause unnecessary and substantial harm to health care practitioners.

American Medical Association↗
PubMed1992

Breast cancer screening in older women: law and patient rights.

Legal principles that apply to breast cancer in older women have been developed in judicial decisions related to other medical screening tests. There are no special legal rules for either mammography or older women, although older women seldom file malpractice suits. The general standard is that a screening test must be offered to any particular age group when it is considered "reasonably prudent" to do so, and this almost always means when the medical profession--usually speaking though its specialty boards--declares it the standard of care. The standard of care should be set by medical professionals, with open opportunity for public input, rather than by lawyers or risk managers. In actual practice, private regulation may not be sufficient to protect the public, and both state and federal regulation of mammography facilities now seems inevitable. Patients have the right to be fully informed prior to screening, the right to refuse screening, and the right to have full knowledge of the consequences of such refusal. Mammography is not a consumer good, but American women should be actively involved in determining issues of costs and benefits, as well as helping to develop the best strategies for counseling and informed consent.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Carrier screening for cystic fibrosis: implications for obstetric and gynecologic practice.

Cystic fibrosis, which is one of the most common autosomal recessive disorders, has a carrier frequency of approximately 1 in 25 among whites in the United States. In this population approximately 75% of the mutations in patients with cystic fibrosis correspond to a 3 base pair deletion that results in the loss of a phenylalanine residue at amino acid position 508 (designated delta F508) from the coding region of the cystic fibrosis gene. Currently, only about half of the couples at risk can be identified as cystic fibrosis carriers. We support conclusions of the National Institutes of Health Workshop on Population Screening for the Cystic Fibrosis Gene, which state that carrier testing should be offered to all individuals or couples with a family history of cystic fibrosis. Good science and solid educational and counseling strategies must be in place before screening for cystic fibrosis is routinely offered to those with a negative family history. Pilot programs that investigate research questions in the delivery of population screening for cystic fibrosis carriers are urgently needed.

Advisory Committees↗
PubMed1990

Legal and ethical implications of fetal diagnosis and gene therapy.

With rapidly expanding capabilities in prenatal diagnosis and treatment resulting from new technologies, the medical profession is increasingly being confronted with legal uncertainties and ethical dilemmas. In this paper, we review current acceptable standards of care in the area of medical practice as related to genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis. We emphasize that any attempts at therapeutic genetic intervention be carried out only 1) when there is reasonable scientific evidence that it will cure or prevent a disabling disease, and b) with the informed, voluntary, competent, and understanding consent of the individuals involved.

Ethics, Medical↗