In agreement with and as a support to what is stated in the Helsinki Declaration, the Australian Medical Association's and the UK General Medical Council's codes of medical ethics provide explicit and straightforward statements on physicians' priorities when involved in research (refer to Table 1).
In addition to the role of the public, participants were also asked about the role of physicians in priority setting.
Even when doctors and their wealthy patients met face to face, Dr Jan Henderson writes, "in making a diagnosis, the physician gave priority to the patient's account of his or her symptoms, even if it contradicted what the physician observed with his own eyes".
Fourth, unmeasured differences in presenting depression-related complaints were unaccounted for, as were physicians' treatment priorities.
Some stated that this was a question about the physicians own priorities, while others emphasized a need for revising the reimbursement system the physicians work within.
13 Understanding which POC tests primary care clinicians (general practitioners, family physicians) consider priorities could bridge the gap between the number of tests available and the number actually used in primary care.
Once we have categorized the participants, we also assess potential barriers to consideration of LKT, including the barriers to discussions with family and providers about LKT (e.g. difficulty discussing LKT with physician, competing priorities, uncertainty about desire for LKT).
Whatever the conflicts and biases of physicians, their underlying priority is the welfare of patients.
This study, conducted in the Netherlands, investigates the judgements of patients, laypersons (i.e. patients on other waiting lists), and physicians on the priority of patients on waiting lists.
8 What role have physicians played in priority setting/resource allocation processes in the past?
