Clinician gate-keeping in clinical research is not ethically defensible: an analysis.
Clinician gate-keeping is the process whereby healthcare providers prevent access to eligible patients for research recruitment. This paper contends that clinician gate-keeping violates three principles that underpin international ethical guidelines: respect for persons or autonomy; beneficence or a favourable balance of risks and potential benefits; and justice or a fair distribution of the benefits and burdens of research. In order to stimulate further research and debate, three possible strategies are also presented to eliminate gate-keeping: partnership with professional researchers; collaborative research design and clinician education.
Sharkey
Kerith
K
Department of Nursing and Supportive Care Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne, Australia.
Savulescu
Julian
J
Aranda
Sanchia
S
Schofield
Penelope
P
D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D028701:Patient Rights; D018579:Patient Selection / Q000941:ethics*; D026684:Personal Autonomy