Editorial Notes

Rapid scientific and technological developments challenge professionals in all fields to keep pace with those changes. Keeping pace means changing decision-making processes, laws, and information management. The authors included in this issue of The Journal raise questions regarding what society and its biomedical professionals are to do when the abilities to perform procedures, share information, and impact lives move beyond the realm of the familiar and what is generally considered ethical. As the choices made possible by improved science and technology force redefinition of the ethical and legal boundaries within which difficult decisions are made, who decides whether or not a particular procedure should be performed? Should we perform an operation merely because we can? Who benefits when resources are scarce? How much privacy are we willing to part with in order to protect society at large? The articles in this issue were chosen in hope that they will help stimulate the debate necessary to answer the questions that ultimately affect us all.