Navigating New Frontiers: Access, Equity and the Cost of Innovation
An examination of equity, ethics, and the true cost of medical innovation in sub-Saharan Africa's healthcare landscape.
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Dr Harriet Etheredge (PhD) Ethics Lead, Genomics EnglandSteve Biko Centre for Bioethics, Wits
About This Webinar
Perhaps no time in the last century has the healthcare environment been so volatile. Soaring costs, uneven distribution, limited access, and commercial interests have created a landscape in which it is imperative to ask: is sub-Saharan Africa getting a fair share of new medical technologies — and, more importantly, who is paying the price for that innovation?
To help navigate these complex issues, the Medical Education Network presents Dr Harriet Etheredge, Ethics Lead at Genomics England and an affiliate of the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics at Wits. Together with MedED Editor Linda Ravenhill, Harriet explores inequalities in access to cutting-edge medical technologies, examining both the ethical and financial implications of innovation in a resource-constrained healthcare environment.
Learning Objectives
- Distinguish between equity and equality, and critically assess how access alone does not guarantee fairness in the adoption of new medical technologies.
- Explore the ethical implications of high-cost therapies, including prioritisation of resources, cost versus benefit, and moral responsibility in prescribing treatments that may be unaffordable to many.
- Identify potential ethical conflicts in the adoption and use of medical devices, including industry and practitioner financial incentives, and understand the importance of transparency.
- Apply the HPCSA principles of fairness, transparency, and integrity to real-world scenarios involving medical innovation, including AI tools, gene therapies, and interventional procedures.
- Reflect on the role of clinicians in shaping equitable healthcare practices and advocating for systemic improvements to ensure fair access to emerging technologies.
Who Should Attend
Dr Harriet Etheredge holds a PhD and has dedicated her career to the ethics of medical innovation and genomics research. She served as Ethics and Regulatory Manager at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (2015–2022) and was seconded to the AgenDA Research Consortium as Head of Ethics and Regulatory Compliance from 2022. Since November 2022, she has served as Ethics Lead at Genomics England, overseeing the ethical aspects of genomics research and policy. Dr Etheredge co-chaired the Wits Human Research Ethics Committee (Medical) and is a widely published academic and ethics speaker.
Linda Ravenhill is the Founder and Editor of the Medical Education Network. With over three decades of healthcare experience, she earned an MA in Journalism from the University of the Witwatersrand, where her research focused on medical narratives surrounding end-of-life care in the elderly. She worked in clinical publishing with the South African Medical Association before founding her technology and digital publishing company in 1999. She was a finalist in the 2011 Cartier Women's Initiative, served as a Ford Global Ambassador, and was recognised at the Reuters EyeforPharma awards for her contribution to healthcare.
An educational programme by Medical Education Network
In partnership with Boston Scientific
