Fitness for work during the COVID-19 disease: principles and suggested assistive tool for protecting workers during the pandemic era.

OBJECTIVE: Amongst the many intricacies engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic was the posed risk of exposure to SARS-COV2 infections among workers and the need to evaluate fitness for work (FFW) of individuals in high exposure groups or those with background morbidity. A designated task force of the Israeli Association of Occupational Medicine has evaluated the relevant literature and published guidelines concerning medical work restrictions for employees in high-risk occupations during the epidemic of novel COVID-19. METHODS: The study depicts a case series of 17 FFW evaluations performed in Maccabi Health Services occupational clinics using the guidelines formulated by the Israeli Occupational Medicine Association. RESULTS: 17 patients, mainly healthcare workers, whose major health hazards were immunodeficiency, respiratory diseases and pregnancy, were assessed in this case series. We present the essential parameters of these FFW evaluations and discuss decision-making in selected cases. CONCLUSIONS: Applying guidelines in various work settings and health risk levels during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic allows for both patients' health preservation and efficient workforce deployment.

Ethical issues in nanomedicine: Tempest in a teapot?

Nanomedicine offers remarkable options for new therapeutic avenues. As methods in nanomedicine advance, ethical questions conjunctly arise. Nanomedicine is an exceptional niche in several aspects as it reflects risks and uncertainties not encountered in other areas of medical research or practice. Nanomedicine partially overlaps, partially interlocks and partially exceeds other medical disciplines. Some interpreters agree that advances in nanotechnology may pose varied ethical challenges, whilst others argue that these challenges are not new and that nanotechnology basically echoes recurrent bioethical dilemmas. The purpose of this article is to discuss some of the ethical issues related to nanomedicine and to reflect on the question whether nanomedicine generates ethical challenges of new and unique nature. Such a determination should have implications on regulatory processes and professional conducts and protocols in the future.