<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>When a new disease emerges, there are at first no specific medicinal products to treat it. This has also been the case in the Covid-19 pandemic. Scientists and health professionals have been trying to establish the best treatments possible using the already-existing medicines that are normally used for different indications. The off-label use of medicinal products is a standard part of medical practice. If it meets certain criteria, it is not contradictory to the standard of care. Nevertheless, the urgency of the pandemic situation brings about new issues. What amount of data on efficacy and safety should be considered sufficient to scientifically justify the off-label use of a particular medicine? How should health professionals reflect the rapid scientific developments and high levels of uncertainty in their clinical practice? How can be these factors influenced by the politicisation of medicine? The paper deals with the outlined questions in order to analyse and concretise the criteria for off-label use of medicinal product in the specific context of the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>
</abstract>

When a new disease emerges, there are at first no specific medicinal products to treat it. This has also been the case in the Covid-19 pandemic. Scientists and health professionals have been trying to establish the best treatments possible using the already-existing medicines that are normally used for different indications. The off-label use of medicinal products is a standard part of medical practice. If it meets certain criteria, it is not contradictory to the standard of care. Nevertheless, the urgency of the pandemic situation brings about new issues. What amount of data on efficacy and safety should be considered sufficient to scientifically justify the off-label use of a particular medicine? How should health professionals reflect the rapid scientific developments and high levels of uncertainty in their clinical practice? How can be these factors influenced by the politicisation of medicine? The paper deals with the outlined questions in order to analyse and concretise the criteria for off-label use of medicinal product in the specific context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

When Science Races: the Standard of Care and Medical Negligence in the Times of Covid-19

Wroclaw Review of Law, Administration & Economics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

When a new disease emerges, there are at first no specific medicinal products to treat it. This has also been the case in the Covid-19 pandemic. Scientists and...

When Science Races: the Standard of Care and Medical Negligence in the Times of Covid-19

Published Online: May 02, 2023

Page range: 1 - 20

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/wrlae-2022-0001

Keywords
health law, standard of care, medical negligence, off-label use of medicinal products, Covid-19, tort law

© 2022 Martin Šolc, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

When Science Races: the Standard of Care and Medical Negligence in the Times of Covid-19

Published Online: May 02, 2023

Page range: 1 - 20

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/wrlae-2022-0001

Keywordshealth law, standard of care, medical negligence, off-label use of medicinal products, Covid-19, tort law

© 2022 Martin Šolc, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
health law, standard of care, medical negligence, off-label use of medicinal products, Covid-19, tort law