TY - JOUR T1 - Clinician gate-keeping in clinical research is not ethically defensible: an analysis JF - Journal of Medical Ethics JO - J Med Ethics SP - 363 LP - 366 DO - 10.1136/jme.2009.031716 VL - 36 IS - 6 AU - Kerith Sharkey AU - Julian Savulescu AU - Sanchia Aranda AU - Penelope Schofield Y1 - 2010/06/01 UR - http://jme.bmj.com/content/36/6/363.abstract N2 - Clinician gate-keeping is the process whereby healthcare providers prevent access to eligible patients for research recruitment. This paper contends that clinician gate-keeping violates three principles that underpin international ethical guidelines: respect for persons or autonomy; beneficence or a favourable balance of risks and potential benefits; and justice or a fair distribution of the benefits and burdens of research. In order to stimulate further research and debate, three possible strategies are also presented to eliminate gate-keeping: partnership with professional researchers; collaborative research design and clinician education. ER -