PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kerith Sharkey
AU  - Julian Savulescu
AU  - Sanchia Aranda
AU  - Penelope Schofield
TI  - Clinician gate-keeping in clinical research is not ethically defensible: an analysis
AID  - 10.1136/jme.2009.031716
DP  - 2010 Jun 01
TA  - Journal of Medical Ethics
PG  - 363--366
VI  - 36
IP  - 6
4099  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/36/6/363.short
4100  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/36/6/363.full
SO  - J Med Ethics2010 Jun 01; 36
AB  - 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.