An NIH Panel's Early Warnings

The first artificial heart in actual use, implanted in Barney Clark, had significant limitations in comparison to a proposed model for an artificial heart developed by a panel of the National Heart & Lung Instit in 1973. The model then proposed was to be totally implantable & powered by a sm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Hastings Center report 1984-10, Vol.14 (5), p.13-15
Main Author: GREEN, HAROLD P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Allocation of Resources: The Artificial Heart
Artificial hearts
Cost estimates
Energy sources
Financial risk
Funding
Health care costs
Heart Diseases
Medical Technology
Physicians
Plutonium
Range searching
Social ethics
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Summary:The first artificial heart in actual use, implanted in Barney Clark, had significant limitations in comparison to a proposed model for an artificial heart developed by a panel of the National Heart & Lung Instit in 1973. The model then proposed was to be totally implantable & powered by a small quantity of plutonium. The panel's approach to evaluation is described, focusing on its three major contributions: demonstration that a small group of nonexperts could cope with the impact of a new item of technology; demonstration that meaningful technology assessment could take place in qualitative terms; & rejection of utilitarian decision-making rules that permit harm to some as a means of benefitting others. In The Artificial Heart: Questions to Ask, and Not to Ask, Samuel Gorovitz (U of Maryland, College Park) distinguishes the question of an artificial heart's effects on the recipient from that of its effects on the community. The first question must be addressed in a way that takes the patient's preferences into account. Socially, artificial hearts may also have significant detrimental effects, including raising the question of what standards should be relied on in deciding who is to receive them, an inquiry which in itself may be unattractive & harmful. W. H. Stoddard
ISSN:0093-0334
1552-146X
DOI:10.2307/3561089