"Doctor, would you prescribe a pill to help me … ?" a national survey of physicians on using medicine for human enhancement.
Using medical advances to enhance human athletic, aesthetic, and cognitive performance, rather than to treat disease, has been controversial. Little is known about physicians' experiences, views, and attitudes in this regard. We surveyed a national sample of physicians to determine how often they prescribe enhancements, their views on using medicine for enhancement, and whether they would be willing to prescribe a series of potential interventions that might be considered enhancements. We find that many physicians occasionally prescribe enhancements, but doctors hold nuanced and ambiguous views of these issues. Most express concerns about the potential effects of enhancements on social equity, yet many also believe specific enhancements that are safe and effective should be available but not covered by insurance. These apparently contradictory views might reflect inherent tensions between the values of equity and liberty, which could make crafting coherent social policies on medical enhancements challenging.
The Institute for Ethics, Chicago, IL 60610, USA.
Timothy D
TD
Hotze
Kavita
K
Shah
Emily E
EE
Anderson
Matthew K
MK
Wynia
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D024803:Biomedical Enhancement / Q000941:ethics*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012449:Safety; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
D018697:Nootropic Agents; D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances; D055553:Prescription Drugs