ATA issues new clinical and professional ethics guidelines

The American Thyroid Association has released guidelines that address the clinical and professional ethical dilemmas unique to thyroidologists.

“These detailed guidelines, written by an interdisciplinary group of experts in thyroidology, endocrine surgery and ethics, offer guidance for ethical questions in the clinical and the research realm. Moreoever, they address important issues surrounding conflicts of interest and resource allocations,” Peter A. Kopp, MD, editor-in-chief of Thyroid and associate professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology, metabolism and molecular medicine and director ad interim of the Center for Genetic Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a release.

The guidelines have several focal points, including the health care provider’s professional responsibility to patients; ethical considerations associated with both clinical care and research; industry relationships and potential conflicts of interest; and issues pertaining to resource allocation and responsible stewardship.

“As enormous changes begin to take effect consequent to The Affordable Care Act … thyroid practitioners find themselves in a new clinical landscape involving numerous resource allocation decisions,” the ATA Ethics Advisory Committee wrote. “As aggressive, non-iodine-avid thyroid cancer continues to rise in incidence, more questions about end-of-life, palliative care, or clinical trial candidacy have arisen. We offer these guidelines in recognition of this unique subspecialty that confronts wide clinical and research diversity.”

For more information:

Rosenthal MS. Thyroid. 2013;23:1203-1210.

Disclosure: The ATA Ethics Advisory Committee members report no relevant financial disclosures.