Ethical considerations for artificial intelligence in dermatology: a scoping review.
The field of dermatology is experiencing the rapid deployment of artificial intelligence (AI), from mobile applications (apps) for skin cancer detection to large language models like ChatGPT that can answer generalist or specialist questions about skin diagnoses. With these new applications, ethical concerns have emerged. In this scoping review, we aimed to identify the applications of AI to the field of dermatology and to understand their ethical implications. We used a multifaceted search approach, searching PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar for primary literature, following the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews guidance. Our advanced query included terms related to dermatology, AI and ethical considerations. Our search yielded 202 papers. After initial screening, 68 studies were included. Thirty-two were related to clinical image analysis and raised ethical concerns for misdiagnosis, data security, privacy violations and replacement of dermatologist jobs. Seventeen discussed limited skin of colour representation in datasets leading to potential misdiagnosis in the general population. Nine articles about teledermatology raised ethical concerns, including the exacerbation of health disparities, lack of standardized regulations, informed consent for AI use and privacy challenges. Seven addressed inaccuracies in the responses of large language models. Seven examined attitudes toward and trust in AI, with most patients requesting supplemental assessment by a physician to ensure reliability and accountability. Benefits of AI integration into clinical practice include increased patient access, improved clinical decision-making, efficiency and many others. However, safeguards must be put in place to ensure the ethical application of AI.
Gordon ER
,Trager MH
,Kontos D
,Weng C
,Geskin LJ
,Dugdale LS
,Samie FH
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Ethics of Procuring and Using Organs or Tissue from Infants and Newborns for Transplantation, Research, or Commercial Purposes: Protocol for a Bioethics Scoping Review.
Since the inception of transplantation, it has been crucial to ensure that organ or tissue donations are made with valid informed consent to avoid concerns about coercion or exploitation. This issue is particularly challenging when it comes to infants and younger children, insofar as they are unable to provide consent. Despite their vulnerability, infants' organs and tissues are considered valuable for biomedical purposes due to their size and unique properties. This raises questions about the conditions under which it is permissible to remove and use these body parts for transplantation, research, or commercial purposes. The aim of this protocol is to establish a foundation for a scoping review that will identify, clarify, and categorise the main ethical arguments regarding the permissibility of removing and using organs or tissues from infants. The scoping review will follow the methodology outlined by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), consisting of five stages: (1) identifying the research question, (2) developing the search strategy, (3) setting inclusion criteria, (4) extracting data, and (5) presenting and analysing the results. We will include both published and unpublished materials that explicitly discuss the ethical arguments related to the procurement and use of infant organs or tissues in the biomedical context. The search will cover various databases, including the National Library of Medicine, Web of Science, EBSCO, and others, as well as grey literature sources. Two raters will independently assess the eligibility of articles, and data from eligible studies will be extracted using a standardised form. The extracted data will then be analysed descriptively through qualitative content analysis.
There has been debate about how to respect the rights and interests of organ and tissue donors since the beginning of transplantation practice, given the moral risks involved in procuring parts of their bodies and using them for transplantation or research. A major concern has been to ensure that, at a minimum, donation of organs or other bodily tissues for transplantation or research is done under conditions of valid informed consent, so as to avoid coercion or exploitation among other moral harms. In the case of infants and younger children, however, this concern poses special difficulties insofar as infants and younger children are deemed incapable of providing valid consent. Due to their diminutive size and other distinctive properties, infants' organs and tissues are seen as valuable for biomedical purposes. Yet, the heightened vulnerability of infants raises questions about when and whether it is ever permissible to remove these body parts or use them in research or for other purposes. The aim of this protocol is to form the basis of a systematic scoping review to identify, clarify, and systematise the main ethical arguments for and against the permissibility of removing and using infant or newborn (hereafter, "infant") organs or tissues in the biomedical context (i.e. for transplantation, research, or commercial purposes).
Our scoping review will broadly follow the well-established methodology outlined by the Joanna Briggs Institute ( Peters et al., 2020). We will follow a five-stage review process: (1) identification of the research question, (2) development of the search strategy, (3) inclusion criteria, (4) data extraction, and (5) presentation and analysis of the results. Published and unpublished bibliographic material (including reports, dissertations, book chapters, etc.) will be considered based on the following inclusion criteria: the presence of explicit (bio)ethical arguments or reasons (concept) for or against the procurement and use of organs or tissues from infants, defined as a child from birth until 1 year old (population), in the biomedical domain, including transplantation, research, and commercial development (context). We will search for relevant studies in the National Library of Medicine (including PubMed and MEDLINE), Virtual Health Library, Web of Science, Google Scholar, EBSCO, Google Scholar, PhilPapers, The Bioethics Literature Database (BELIT), EthxWeb as well as grey literature sources (e.g., Google, BASE, OpenGrey, and WorldCat) and the reference lists of key studies to identify studies suitable for inclusion. A three-stage search strategy will be used to determine the eligibility of articles, as recommended by the JBI methodological guidelines. We will exclude sources if (a) the full text is not accessible, (b) the main text is in a language other than English, or (c) the focus is exclusively on scientific, legal, or religious/theological arguments. All articles will be independently assessed for eligibility between two raters (MB & XL); data from eligible articles will be extracted and charted using a standardised data extraction form. The extracted data will be analysed descriptively using basic qualitative content analysis.
Ethical review is not required as scoping reviews are a form of secondary data analysis that synthesise data from publicly available sources. Our dissemination strategy includes peer review publication, presentation at conferences, and outreach to relevant stakeholders.
The results will be reported according to the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. An overview of the general data from the included studies will be presented in the form of graphs or tables showing the distribution of studies by year or period of publication, country of origin, and key ethical arguments. These results will be accompanied by a narrative summary describing how each included study or article relates to the aims of this review. Research gaps will be identified and limitations of the review will also be highlighted.
A paper summarising the findings from this review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. In addition, a synthesis of the key findings will be disseminated to biomedical settings (e.g., conferences or workshops, potentially including ones linked to university hospitals) in the UK, USA, Türkiye, and Singapore. They will also be shared with the academic community and policy makers involved in the organ procurement organisations (OPO), which will potentially consider our recommendations in their decision-making processes regarding infant tissue/organ donation practice in these countries.
The use of a rigorous, well-established methodological framework will ensure the production of a high-quality scoping review that will contribute to the bioethics literature.A comprehensive search of disciplinary and cross-disciplinary databases will be undertaken to ensure coverage of all possible sources that meet the inclusion criteria for the review.This review will focus exclusively on infant tissue/organ procurement/use in biomedical contexts, providing a comprehensive and reliable source of ethical arguments for future debates on this sensitive topic.The review will be limited to articles published in English, which increases the risk of missing relevant sources published in other languages.The review will be limited to articles for which the full text is available, which increases the risk of missing relevant sources that otherwise may have been included in the scoping review had the full text been accessible.
Barış M
,Lim X
,T Almonte M
,Shaw D
,Brierley J
,Porsdam Mann S
,Nguyen T
,Menikoff J
,Wilkinson D
,Savulescu J
,Earp BD
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Telehealth Use and Legal Considerations in Drug Health Services During Pandemics: Systematic Scoping Review.
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted patients with substance use disorder (SUD) more than the general population and resulted in substantially increased emergency department admissions. Routine care of patients attending drug health services during the pandemic transitioned, with telehealth being important in delivering appropriate care. However, telehealth introduces unique risks such as privacy, confidentiality, and data safety. Providing health care through telehealth may fail if the legal impacts are not fully identified and acted on by health professionals. It also poses unintended risks for patients and can result in ineffectiveness, damages, medical negligence, and detracts from the best intentions of governments and health professionals. Understanding the legal framework ensures that medical professionals operate health care through telehealth within the law. Providing health care successfully through telehealth depends on the balance between innovation and legal compliance. By considering these aspects, clinicians and practitioners can provide effective and safe telehealth services during pandemics or any other natural disaster.
We aimed to explore the legal impact of autonomy consent, confidentiality, privacy, data security, professional indemnity, and liability when delivering telehealth to patients with SUD. The scoping review also aimed to provide legal, ethical, and clinical considerations to minimize legal risks with using telehealth in drug health service outpatient settings.
We performed a scoping review to provide an overview of existing research, statutes, and case laws for the incorporation of clinical, ethical, and legal considerations into telehealth use. Six databases for medical and 6 databases for legal publications were searched, as well as Australian national and selected international regulatory standards. Medical articles published up to June 2022 were included in this review. Our search yielded 1436 publications, 614 abstracts were reviewed, and 80 published studies met the inclusion criteria from 614 legal and medical search results. Current regulations related to technology use in drug health services, relevant cases, and international regulatory standards are discussed.
In total, 43 legal documents including 15 statutes, 4 case laws, and 37 medical publications were reviewed. The themes arising from the literature were consent and autonomy (20/80, 25%), confidentiality (8/80, 10%), privacy (8/80, 10%), data security (7/80, 9%), and professional indemnity issues (3/80, 4%) in telehealth use. Further, 24 studies identified legal issues associated with telehealth use in patients with SUD.
Our review identified potential legal issues associated with telehealth use in patients with SUD. Several legal and medical research articles provide frameworks, codes of conduct, or suggestions for clinicians to consider, but there was little discussion or evidence of how legal considerations are being applied when providing telehealth consultations at drug health services. Clinicians should be aware of the medicolegal implications when providing health care via telehealth at drug health services.
Jefferies M
,Graham R
,Tracy M
,Read S
,Eslam M
,Douglas MW
,George J
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