Task Force on Ethics (TF-E)

Membership

Aims

• To increase awareness among Laboratory Medicine Professionals of ethical issues
• To encourage the practice of Laboratory Medicine to the highest ethical standards
• To develop guidance documents for member societies on ethics related issues
• To provide a voice for Laboratory Medicine on ethical issues

Objectives

• Recognizing that IFCC is formed by representatives from Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine in more than 90 countries plus more than 40 corporate members, it is unlikely that the TF can create documents that would be acceptable to all national societies. For that reason, the TF should instead focus on guidance documents to assist member societies to create their own unique policies and statements
• A secondary objective is to ensure that each paper is published in professional journal(s) and that it is also made available to the general public

Background

During the term 1997-1999, the EB of the IFCC accepted the principle of establishing an Ethics Committee. In various parts of the world, individual professional organizations have raised awareness of ethics-related issues among their members and have produced documents addressing some of the key issues. Other organizations have not, and would like guidance on how to create such documents. In general, the Laboratory Medicine community has not provided organized discussion in which the members can actively participate. There has been even less effort at the international level to create a collective voice for ethical issues in Laboratory Medicine. Laboratory Medicine organizations have a responsibility to advance the interest of their members but the IFCC strategic vision also clearly states that the ultimate goal is to benefit the health and well-being of the patients and communities we serve. This test of our professional responsibility demands that we do not simply perform tests and use technology uncritically. We cannot be isolated from the impact of our work on society.

Resources

The Task Force on Ethics has produced the following documents:

• "Ethics Policies" (April 2020)

• eAdademy Webinars:
  • Ethics & Professionalism for IFCC Volunteers - Part 1 Apr 2020
  • Ethics & Professionalism for IFCC Volunteers - Part 2 Apr 2020
  • Ethics Education Jan 2017
  • Publication Ethics Mar 2016 - Pearls of Laboratory Medicine, in cooperation with AACC
  • Ethics in Laboratory Medicine Feb 2016 - Pearls of Laboratory Medicine, in cooperation with AACC 

• Toolkit with a list of topics and articles related to Ethics in Laboratory Medicine (March 2019)

• "Ethical Considerations in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine" (January 2016)

• "Publication Ethics and Ethics in Science" (November 2012)

The group also produced three teaching modules entitled: "Ethics in Laboratory Medicine", "Ethics Education" and "Publication Ethics". These modules are freely available in this website in the eAcademy section http://eacademy.ifcc.org/events/aacc-pearls-of-laboratory-medicine/.

List of Corresponding Members, nominated by National Societies

List of Corresponding Members, nominated by Companies

List of addresses 

Chair

Dr Nilda FINK
Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas,
Facultad de Ciencias Exactas,
Universidad Nacional de La Plata,
Calle 47 y 115, 1900
La Plata - Argentina
e-mail: NFink@fbpba.org.ar