Pacific Center for Health Policy and Ethics
Ethical Issues in Governing Biobanks: Global Perspectives
New book looks at the global ethical and regulatory issues in 'biobanks' and genetic databases.
Click here for more information
About Pacific Center
At a time when developments in medical technology are creating moral and ethical challenges in health care at an ever increasing rate, the Pacific Center for Health Policy and Ethics is addressing some of the most critical and complex bioethical issues facing our society. Among these are patients' control over dying, new reproductive technologies including surrogate motherhood, human gene therapy and use of presymptomatic genetic screening, equitable access to health care, and ethical issues in managed care.
The Pacific Center-created in 1991 jointly by the USC Law and the USC Keck School of Medicine-brings an interdisciplinary as well as inter-institutional perspective to the study of ethical problems and health policy development. Recognizing that important issues in health care and research require the broadest possible discussion, the Pacific Center brings together experts form a wide range of fields at USC with representatives from healthcare providers, consumer groups, government, insurers, and other ethics centers.
The Pacific Center's work is enhanced by its location at the University of Southern California. This urban institution has many connections to the multiethnic community of Los Angeles, including close association with several hospitals that serve both indigent and private patients. This combination of diverse populations and hospital settings offers the Pacific Center a unique opportunity to examine the health policy choices that Americans of all cultural backgrounds make or would like to make, given adequate resources.
Announcements
- March 20, 2009 - Medical Student Forum Suggests Policies to Address Tough Health Ethics Issues. The Best three groups competing for the Ehrenreich Prize. http://uscnews2.usc.edu/hscweekly/detail.php?recordnum=16438
- Mark S. Ehrenreich Prize in Healthcare Ethics Research
CLICK HERE to see the winners and finalists.
Latest News
- April 14, 2009 - Alex Capron comments on the recent controversy about the actions of the editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association, who are accused of trying to silence a whistleblower who complained over an undisclosed conflict of interest of the lead author of a study published in the journal.
- Pacific Center Senior Fellow, William Schwartz addressed issues in healthcare rationing. Dr. Schwartz passed away March 15, 2009. http://uscnews2.usc.edu/HSCSearch/detail.php?recordnum=16447
- September 17, 2007 - A lecture on Bioethics in the Real World presented at the European Association of Centres of Medical Ethics 21st Annual Conference at the University of Zurich in Switzerland Click here for the lecture presentation.
- May 1, 2007 - A lecture on Ethical Norms and International Governance of Genomics presented by Prof. Capron at the Ethox Centre at Oxford University Click here for the lecture presentation.
- April 16, 2007 - Prof. Capron's talk on "Making cancer a chronic disease: The ethical predicaments of progress?" in the session on ethics of cancer research, entitled "Balancing Cost and Clinical Benefits of New Anticancer Agents: A Societal Dilemma" at the Centennial Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research Click here for an audio recording of the talk.
- "Medical Humanities" Speakers, part of the Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative at USC
- Feb. 28, 2007 - Professor Capron gives a lecture at the University of South Carolina School of Law on "Ethical Challenges in Preparing for a Pandemic".
Click here for the event podcast.
