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The Advancement of Medical Technologies: Diverse Educational and Ethical Dilemmas

Appel à contributions pour Frontiers, lancé par Hazar Haidar, Patrick Gogognon et Vardit Ravitsky.

Over the last few decades, the infiltration of new technologies into our daily life has been so pervasive and fast that it has impacted diverse domains, including the field of medicine. For instance, recent advances in artificial intelligence technologies in healthcare allow for a better diagnosis of certain diseases. Further, findings from the human genome changed the landscape of the genetics’ field through the developments of diverse technologies such as CRISPR and prenatal testing technologies, including noninvasive prenatal testing.

This increased use of medical technologies in different areas of medicine comes with a host of ethical challenges. For instance, how should a new medical technology be best implemented to ensure the patient’s safety? Who should be responsible for the ethical introduction of these technologies into the healthcare system; the institution, the healthcare professional, governmental bodies, etc.? How should HCPs keep up with the advancement and uses of new medical technologies in a continuously evolving era? In that perspective, the critical weight of responsibility involved in using new medical technologies is why ethics education is vital for diverse stakeholders such as healthcare professionals, physicians, and administrators.

This Research Topic aims to bring together a collection of papers that discuss the evolving nature of education and ethics and introduce new medical technologies. Although the questions that are raised are not new, the constantly developing nature of the medical field created by the challenging nature of every new medical technology (such as AI, NIPT) that it is implemented, and the issues it raises, require new insights to better address concerns and prepare future professionals and stakeholders for an ethical use of the technology in question. Therefore, our edited collection aims to shed light on how education and ethics are evolving or should evolve in diverse medical fields to keep pace with these advancements.

We welcome the submission of manuscripts including, but not limited to, the following topics:

1- Medical technology, society, and cultural diversity
• How does the introduction of new medical technology impact society or groups from diverse cultural and social backgrounds differently?
• How do these diverse groups perceive issues in medical technology such as privacy, consent, security, and identity differently, if any?
• How do we ensure the concerned population’s fair use and access to the new medical technology?

2- Medical technology, responsibility, and education
• What governance models (e.g. research ethics committees) should be implemented to ensure a responsible research innovation (RRI)?
• Who is responsible for the ethical use of new medical technologies?
• How should healthcare professionals be prepared for the proper use of the technology?
• How best to integrate ethics education for diverse stakeholders, including HCPs, to better navigate the complexities raised by the implementation of new medical devices?

3- Transferability of medical technology to the patient
• How might the introduction of a new medical technology impact healthcare provision?
• How do we ensure the safety and proper informed consent of the patient to use specific medical technology?
• How to ensure the update of existing frameworks regarding data privacy and protection in the face of new challenges raised by some particular medical technologies (such as AI)?

Keywords: Medical technology, Ethics, Education, Innovation, Adoption, Responsibility, Stakeholders, Physicians, Oversight, Research Ethics

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.