The Ethics of Ubiquitous Computing in Health Care

Ubiquitous computing in health care raises significant ethical challenges that must be confronted as part of any comprehensive effort to understand the technological and institutional reconfigurations of this emerging domain. In this chapter, the author uses the term "ubiquitous computing" to refer to an array of diverse technologies deployed throughout multiple stages of healthcare delivery, from research and development, to patient care and therapeutics in health institutions, to the monitoring and surveillance of health and health inputs in everyday living. The chapter presents a case study on cardiac implanted electrical devices. It discusses three sets of new ethical challenges confronting the healthcare industry, its technology partners, and society more broadly as they engage in this transformation. Patients, providers, healthcare institutions, and regulators will all need to be smart about how they design and inhabit the socio-technical relationships that link health information devices to values, behaviors, sensibilities, relationships, and institutional practices.