Biomedical subjects

R P Reuzel

Publications and source records attributed to R P Reuzel.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Interactive technology assessment and wide reflective equilibrium.

Interactive technology assessment (iTA) provides an answer to the ethical problem of normative bias in evaluation research. This normative bias develops when relevant perspectives on the evaluand (the thing being evaluated) are neglected. In iTA this bias is overcome by incorporating different perspectives into the assessment. As a consequence, justification of decisions based on the assessment is provided by stakeholders having achieved agreement. In this article, agreement is identified with wide reflective equilibrium to show that it indeed has the potential of justifying decisions. We work out several conditions for this agreement to be achievable and just.

Consensus↗

PubMed1999

Guidelines for using diagnostic imaging devices: an inference system.

This paper deals with optimising the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners through the development of a new kind of clinical guidelines called 'substrate-specific protocols'. These protocols would link the descriptive elements of lesions to the most appropriate imaging techniques on the basis of the biophysics of MRI. As many lesions have elements in common, substrate-specific protocols could have a more general character and be more firmly based on evidence than conventional guidelines. We developed an inference model to enter, structure and retrieve knowledge acquired through a literature search. This proved a practicable and attractive approach. Its exactness, however, reveals the imperfections of medical knowledge and clinical practice. We conclude that it could be hard to establish an 'evidence basis' for clinical guidelines, if 'evidence based' means rooted in natural science.

Biophysical Phenomena↗

PubMed1999

Reducing normative bias in health technology assessment: interactive evaluation and casuistry.

Health technology assessment (HTA) is often biased in the sense that it neglects relevant perspectives on the technology in question. To incorporate different perspectives in HTA, we should pursue agreement about what are relevant, plausible, and feasible research questions; interactive technology assessment (iTA) might be suitable for this goal. In this way a kind of procedural ethics is established. Currently, ethics too often is focussed on the application of general principles, which leaves a lot of confusion as to what really is the matter in specific cases; in an iTA clashes of values should not be approached by use of such ethics. Instead, casuistry, as a tool used within the framework of iTA, should help to articulate and clarify what is the matter, as to make room for explication and consensus building.

Casuistry↗