Legal Aspects of Alzheimer Prediction

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundWhen diagnostic and therapeutic measures are increasingly replaced by predictive methods and preventive treatments, the applicable law is also subject to a variety of effects. In particular, a major question is about the eligibility of predictive measures for reimbursement by the statutory health insurance schemes in different countries. Secondly, in spite of the chances associated with early knowledge about disease risks, there can be negative legal and factual disadvantages, e.g. disclosure obligations for insurance contracts. Thirdly, the existing requirements for medical information and consent must be reassessed: The decision about the determination of future risks is particularly and increasingly complex, while the extent of the legal obligation of the physician to inform about decision‐relevant but not specifically medical remote effects has not yet been conclusively clarified.MethodWe scrutinize existing legislation and jurisprudence from Germany, Switzerland and Spain to identify uncertainties, hindrances or gaps in the existing legal framework, suggest adjustment and recommend legally safe and ethically justified paths for medical care in light of the changes described above.ResultThe existing legal framework bears uncertainties for the application of increasingly available methods to predict the individual risk for Alzheimer’s dementia. Therefore, an ethico‐legal framework for responsible and patient‐oriented dementia prediction is being developed.ConclusionThe poster highlights the most pertinent legal questions and challenges associated with dementia prediction, and shows the integration of empirical data and ethical assessments into an ethico‐legal framework.