Unlearning to learn: re-envisioning ethics oversight for learning health systems
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The learning health system gained attention for its promise to improve the quality and efficiency of health care. In a learning health system, knowledge generation is built into the ongoing practice of clinical care, and findings based on this knowledge are continuously fed back to improve care delivery. While the goals of a learning health system are arguably consistent with the moral obligation of health systems to improve quality, safety, and justice in health, the integration of research and care challenges several of the foundational principles of research ethics-principles which undergird much of the existing regulatory apparatus for human subjects research. This presentation will describe the ethical tensions raised by the learning health system, summarize trends in recent empirical data related to those tensions, and propose future directions for research and practice related to ethics oversight to advance the goals of the learning health system.