1. Ethics in medical profiling and online medicine
Professor Jonathan Wolff
Professor of Philosophy, University College London

2. Ethical values Safeguarding private information
Individuals being able to pursue their own interests in their own way
Efforts by the state to reduce harm
Using public resources efficiently and fairly
Sharing risks, protecting the vulnerable: social solidarity

3. ‘Softening’ ethical dilemmas
The ethical values often conflict
No one value trumps the others
Our approach:
Establish benefits and harms in each case
Attempt to ‘soften’ conflicts between ethical values by respecting each as much as possible
Recommend interventions that are evidence-based, proportionate and feasible

4. Examples of pros and cons
Potential advantages
Potential disadvantages
Convenience
Empowerment
Early intervention
Control
Act in private
Price competition
Misleading information
Misinterpretation
Wasted money
Unnecessary anxiety
Breaches of information privacy
Damage to patient-doctor relationship