Medical Ethics

ISSN Print 2713-0894 ISSN Online 2713-0908

BIOMEDICAL JOURNAL OF ERMC EASTERN EUROPEAN

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Issue 1, 2026

Topic The ethics of Matvey Yakovlevich Mudrov

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Issue 4, 2024

Topic Implementation of neurotechnologies. Development of ethical guidelines

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Issue 1, 2025

Topic Amendments and additions to the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association "Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects"

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Issue 2, 2025

Topic Bioethical problems of quantum computing

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Issue 3, 2025

Topic Space biology, space medicine and space psychologyin the context of "human sciences"

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Issue 4, 2025

Topic Ethical aspects and prospects of space exploration and exploitation

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New articles

Alekseeva KS, Galkina GA

Upholding ethical standards in pharmacy administration enhances a leader’s professional competency, ensuring the provision of premium medical care. Yet, organizations still struggle to agree on standard ethical practices. In pharmacy, this is worsened by leaders viewing their roles as mere paperwork, entirely divorced from ethical or socially responsible considerations. Consequently, exploring the professional ethics governing pharmacy executives is paramount for optimizing public access to pharmaceutical care. Application of general scientific methods reveals that managerial ethics is an amalgam of organizational culture, socio-psychological dynamics, and core professional practices. Pharmaceutical managers must integrate ethical principles and regulatory compliance into every facet of their professional duties. The foundational ethics of a pharmacy manager are developed progressively, beginning post-graduation and evolving through lifelong professional education.

Received: 2026-05-15

Published online: 2026-06-08

DOI: 10.24075/medet.2026.013

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VIEWS 128

Demarina SM, Usolkin AA, Balashova YD, Tikhomirova SV

This review examines the ethical and legal implications of creating pharmacogenetic passports during the preconception (prior to conception) and prenatal (intrauterine) periods. The work is based on a methodological differentiation between the stages of genetic testing.. Preconception screening aims to assess carrier status in prospective parents and ensure their reproductive freedom, while prenatal testing provides fetus-related data, raising bioethical issues regarding the protection of interests and self-determination of the future child. The technologies of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), and prospects for intrauterine pharmacotherapy in severe congenital abnormalities are discussed. Special attention is given to ethical conflicts such as a conflict between the right to health and the right not to know, limits of parental proxy, and risk of genetic stigmatization. Normative approaches are suggested to address the identified ethical tensions (minimum intervention, clinical benefit, and deferred choice). The analysis of the Russian legislation and international instruments (Oviedo Convention, the GINA Act, the GDPR) yields recommendations for the healthcare system and legal regulation.

Received: 2026-03-19

Published online: 2026-05-23

DOI: 10.24075/medet.2026.012

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VIEWS 251

Gidirim UO, Beliaeva AM

The article presents an ethical analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials (PCTs) conducted in developing countries in situations where effective treatment already exists elsewhere in the world. The authors examine a fundamental contradiction: the use of a placebo often becomes feasible only because of global inequality in access to healthcare, whereby the actual standard of care for the local population is the complete absence of treatment. Through two case studies: trials of drugs for HIV prevention and for the treatment of infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS) — the ambiguity of ethical evaluation is demonstrated. The key criterion for the acceptability of a PCT is identified as the degree of potential harm: while in the case of HIV the risk to participants was high but not fatal, in the case of IRDS the use of a placebo directly endangered the lives of infants. To provide a philosophical foundation for the problem, the authors employ John Rawls’ thought experiment of the “veil of ignorance” and Gerald Cohen’s test of interpersonal justifiability. From Rawls’ perspective, PCTs perpetuate injustice, because the standard of care cannot depend on a patient’s place of residence, and no one would agree to risk their life due to the contingency of being born in a poor country. Cohen’s test reveals the moral deficiency in the pharmaceutical companies’ reasoning: they themselves contribute to the inaccessibility of medicines and then use this as a justification for placebo controls. The conclusions argue for the necessity of a differentiated approach: prohibition of PCTs when lethal risks are involved, and permissibility only under the condition that the research is aimed at developing accessible treatment for the same vulnerable population.

Received: 2026-03-13

Published online: 2026-05-21

DOI: 10.24075/medet.2026.011

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VIEWS 167

Rutkovskaya LM

The article analyzes the image of healthcare professionals shown in Russian poetry of the XX century through the lens of a duty. The topic declared as the subject of a special comprehensive survey has not been brought up in the Russian scientific field. The notion of ‘a duty’ is defined, a summary of research literature related to this issue is provided. The author mentions that the category of a doctor’s professional duty, which appeared in Russian poetry in the beginning of the XX century only, is firmly fixed and reflected herein during the entire investigated period. Meanwhile, poetry provides examples both for children and adults. In this paper, pieces of poetry by Mayakovsky VV, Chukovsky KI, Drunina YV, Zabolotsky NA and Rutkovsky MA have been analyzed. It is indicated that poetry produces a specific effect on the reader. The author concludes that the images of devoted doctors and nurses that have been created by Russian poets can play a significant methodological and educational role in developing the professional identity and personality of future healthcare professionals.

Received: 2026-04-02

Published online: 2026-05-10

DOI: 10.24075/medet.2026.010

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VIEWS 202

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Popular articles

Demarina SM, Sirotkina AM, Usolkin AA, Dombrovskaya ED

The article reviews ethical and legal hurdles of integrating pharmacogenetic testing into personalized medicine. The aim of this publication was to systematize key ethical problems in clinical pharmacogenetics and find possible solutions in Russian legislation. It was an analytical review study that used a systematic analysis of scientific literature combined with comparative legal analysis of national/foreign regulations. The risks of confidentiality violations and unauthorized reuse of genetic data, difficulties in obtaining informed consent and interpreting incidental findings, and a threat of genetic discrimination from employers and insurance companies are reviewed. It has been shown that a high cost of genetic tests increases the inequality of access to medical technologies and highlights major social injustice issues. It is concluded that clarifying the legal status of genetic data, developing special mechanisms to protect patients from stigmatization and discrimination, and introducing educational programs on pharmacogenetics and genetic counseling for medical professionals are essential.

Received: 2025-12-11

Published online: 2025-12-27

DOI: 10.24075/medet.2025.027

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VIEWS 614

Speshilova SA, Lileeva EG, Sinitsina OA

Real-life clinical practice requires to confirm bioequivalence of medicinal products in everyday settings resulting in adequately assessed effectiveness and tolerability of drugs in diverse patient groups. When the studies are lacking, it cannot be warranted that therapeutic effects or safety profiles of the reproduced drug will be identical to those of original brand medicines, which may decrease the trust of doctors and patients in generics and, as a consequence, limit treatment affordability. Assessment of bioequivalence (or pharmacokinetic equivalence) of medicinal products (drugs) is currently considered one of the main types of biomedical quality control of reproduced (generic) medicines. The Russian pharmaceutical market is heavily dominated by generic drugs, which significantly outnumber original products. Thus, bioequivalence studies are of a huge economic and clinical value.

Received: 2025-12-11

Published online: 2026-02-26

DOI: 10.24075/medet.2026.003

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VIEWS 417