摘要：Ubiquitous healthcare is an emerging area of technology that uses a large number
of environmental and patient sensors and actuators to monitor and improve
patients' physical and mental condition. Tiny sensors gather data on almost any
physiological characteristic that can be used to diagnose health problems. This
technology faces some challenging ethical questions, ranging from the
small-scale individual issues of trust and efficacy to the societal issues of
health and longevity gaps related to economic status. It presents particular
problems in combining developing computer/information/media ethics with
established medical ethics. This article describes a practice-based ethics
approach, considering in particular the areas of privacy, agency, equity and
liability. It raises questions that ubiquitous healthcare will force
practitioners to face as they develop ubiquitous healthcare systems. Medicine is
a controlled profession whose practise is commonly restricted by
government-appointed authorities, whereas computer software and hardware
development is notoriously lacking in such regimes.
