The Application of Belmont Report Principles to Policy Development

: Attention to ethical issues is a routine part of medical research. In this article, we propose that health policy development, like research, include a formal review of these issues. Ethical knowledge is a critical component of epistemology and inherent in development of laws and principles of justice. However, we cannot assume that new policies are subject to a formal ethics review. The Belmont Report of 1978 provides a platform for this process. Prior to the Belmont Report, there was no foundation defining this process in medical research. Based on this history, we propose that health care payment policy development include a formal assessment of risks and benefits using an approach that is familiar to all researchers.