India needs to adhere to stringent regulations during the conduct of clinical trials while using new technologies, stated Dr Vasantha Muthuswamy, deputy director, Indian Council of Medical Research.

Speaking at the National Bioethics Conference here in Bangalore, Dr Muthuswamy said that the ICMR's ethical guidelines for biomedical human research have recently been revised in response to advances in reproductive technologies and research.

"Medical technologies dominate present day clinical practise. However advances in technological know-how have not necessarily been accompanied by systematic changes in the public policy that are required to make these benefits accessible and affordable," she said. Physicians use a wide range of tools to guide and support their healing practices. The advances in healthcare technologies include an array of diagnostics like ultrasound, MRIs, antenatal screening, DNA-based lab tests and treatments using genes and stem cells.

The increasing application of health technologies is becoming controversial and one of them is the artificial reproduction and reproductive health. The use of technology to predict the characteristics of foetus has created a whole range of ethical debates. One of them is the use of ultrasound for determining the sex of the foetus.

Therefore research on healthcare technologies has been a hotly debated subject in bioethics, stated Dr Muthusawamy. "The possibility of mapping the genetic make-up of entire population has implications for the human rights and communities who are found to posses genetic traits that make them either susceptible or resistant to particular diseases. Further the patenting of life forms or cell functions and pathways has raised important questions regarding what may be patented and under what terms. The innumerable controversy of lawsuits in the West is an evidence of these contentious issues", she said.

In a session titled 'Use and Misuse of Technologies in Clinical Practice', Dr Sriram Rajgopal stated that it is the financial incentives of various kinds that drive the improper use of high technology. "The annual executive health check-up promoted by hospitals is industry-driven and bad science. There are too many diagnostic tests, they are used too often, and for the wrong reasons," said Dr Arjun Rajagopalan, Sundaram Medical Foundation, Chennai.

"The pressures to earn a living encourage unethical medical practice," said Dr George Thomas, of St Isabel's Hospital, Chennai and editor of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. "Patients have a right to know in advance what treatment they are being given, what the side effects it may cause, along with the costs. The patient should also have the right to refuse treatment, stated Vandana Gupta, founder, V-Care, a cancer patient support organisation.