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Against the backdrop of the complex healthcare design process and the absence of national regulations on the functional and spatial organisation of healthcare facilities, this paper discusses the Swedish use of non-regulatory Concept Programmes, i.e. orientation tools for the conceptual stages of design conceived to facilitate the systematic transfer of knowledge from research and best practices to the design practice. A comparison is also made with the design approach and the norm in the Italian context, stimulating a two-fold debate on: the tools and methods needed to guide the design of primary care facilities; the process that should lead to the definition of such tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organ trafficking is officially banned in several countries and by the main Nephrology Societies. However, this practice is widespread and is allowed or tolerated in many countries, hence, in the absence of a universal law, the caregiver may be asked for advice, placing him/her in a difficult balance between legal aspects, moral principles and ethical judgments.In spite of the Istanbul declaration, which is a widely shared position statement against organ trafficking, the controversy on mercenary organ donation is still open and some experts argue against taking a negative stance. In the absence of clear evidence showing the clinical disadvantages of mercenary transplantation compared to chronic dialysis, self-determination of the patient (and, with several caveats, of the donor) may conflict with other ethical principles, first of all non-maleficence. The present paper was drawn up with the participation of the students, as part of the ethics course at our medical school. It discusses the situation in which the physician acts as a counselor for the patient in the way of a sort of "reverse" informed consent, in which the patient asks advice regarding a complex personal decision, and includes a peculiar application of the four principles (beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and autonomy) to the donor and recipient parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]