ABSTRACT
Consider the common situation in which a physician recommends that a patient's diseased hip joint should be replaced with an artificial hip system. The physician's ethical obligations to the patient in this case are well established in practice and in professional codes of ethics: to recommend the best medical treatment for the problem, to adequately inform the patient of his or her options, and to manage the course of treatment the patient consents to undergo. Bioengineers do not have a direct professional relationship with patients who make use of bioengineering technology. Physicians and/or surgeons diagnose the problem, recommend the replacement, select the hip system to be used, explain the options to the patient as part of the informed consent process, implant the device, and deal with any problems that may develop. Including the bioengineer in the clinical relationship with the patient makes sense only if there are corresponding political changes made in the health care system.
