J Korean Med Assoc.  2013 Nov;56(11):1031-1038. 10.5124/jkma.2013.56.11.1031.

Ethical principles and practice guidelines concerning the usage of public database for medical researches

• Yoo SH
• Lee J
• Lee K
• Lee I
• Bae JM

• KMID: 2193479
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2013.56.11.1031

Abstract

In this paper, ethical principles and practice guidelines concerning the usage of public database for medical researches were developed and proposed. Although there are several personal health databases with comprehensive information of each individual, researches aiming at public good are often hindered because of legal, managerial and technical barriers to the usage of public databases. Ethical principles and guidelines are indispensible to promote medical research that will benefit society while protecting personal information from bleaching and abuse. These principles and guidelines should be a basis of trust and supports from society. For this purpose, the meaning of public good was given, and the current status of the linkage and usage of public databases were explored. As a result, three ethical principles-guaranteeing public good, protecting personal information, and transparency were established and eight recommendations were proposed.

Keyword

Medical ethics; Codes of ethics; Practice guideline; Database management systems; Medical record linkage

MeSH Terms

Codes of Ethics
Database Management Systems
Ethics, Medical
Humans
Medical Record Linkage

Figure

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  Figure 1 Flowchart for developing ethical principles concerning the public data usage for research purpose.

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