Ethics in laboratory medicine: lessons from the covid-19 pandemic

AUTORI

ABSTRACT

Professional societies in many countries have developed ethics policies and guidance materials for laboratory medicine which, just like any other area of medicine, must adhere to high ethical standards in order to assure quality and safety in health care. In particular, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the accreditation standard ISO 15189:2012 “Medical laboratories − Requirements for quality and competence” has dedicated a specific section to this issue. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised the awareness of the urgent need to reassess and update ethical codes, and has highlighted current challenges and critical issues, such as access to diagnostics and laboratory testing, the value of laboratory information and the need for well-integrated diagnostic information. In the present paper, proposals are made for the updating of ethical codes currently required in laboratory medicine.

BIBLIOGRAFIA