On the ethical requirement to inform patients about potential treatment benefits.
On the ethical requirement to inform patients about potential treatment benefits.
复制标题
关于告知患者潜在治疗益处的道德要求。
DOI:
10.1136/bmj.p1233
复制
发表时间:
2023
期刊:
影响因子:
--
通讯作者:
Howick J
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Howick J
Davis and colleagues found that the benefits of prescription drugs are often poorly communicated to patients 1; a similar problem arises in clinical trials. 2 Failure to mention potential benefits can cause patients to develop unreasonably negative expectations and experience avoidable “nocebo” effects. 3 The opposite can also be true: without being provided with sound evidence, patients can overestimate potential benefits, a phenomenon known as therapeutic optimism. 4 5 In non-inferiority trials, the problem is more concerning, because patients can mistakenly assume that the new intervention is being studied to evaluate improved efficacy over established treatments, when the primary study aim is to rule out a degree of inferior efficacy deemed “clinically acceptable.” 5 Worse, inconsistency in the way that information about potential treatment benefits is presented can undermine ethics committees’ decisions regarding how and whether to share such information with patients.Sharing information about treatment benefits in clinical practice is not required by EU or UK legislation. 1 By contrast, the Declaration of Helsinki states that, in research studies,“each potential subject must be adequately informed of... the anticipated benefits and potential risks.” 6 Similar statements about trial participants can be found in UK 7 and EU 8 regulations. If specifying potential benefits in a clinical trial setting (where the benefits have not been established) is required, it should also be required in the practice setting where (hopefully) treatment benefits have been established.