Research means the creation of new knowledge and the development of practical solutions to society's most impenetrable dilemmas. One of the hallmarks of the Institute's research is its interdisciplinary focus. A pioneer in the use of empirical methods to advance issues in bioethics, our research integrates quantitative and qualitative methods from the social sciences with philosophical and legal scholarship. Hopkins patients are among the first to benefit from the latest therapies, preventive interventions, and diagnostic techniques. In turn, this continuing health care revolution puts Hopkins clinicians on the front line in the struggle to balance the miracles of biotechnology with considerations of cost, quality of life, and access to care.
Every day is full of medical miracles.
Yet, frequently, these miracles present patients and their families with complicated decisions they feel ill prepared to handle. Ethical considerations are not limited to the beginning and end of life, but span the entire lifetime of the patient. Clinical ethics focuses on the roles and responsibilities of health care professionals and the ethical issues that arise in providing patient care. Biomedical research continues to improve the quality of our lives, but it involves risk. Hopkins will continue to lead the way in these and other areas of biomedical research, but the new approaches we espouse will require dramatic changes in what we do in health care delivery and professional training.