Author information from the last article
E-post: j.r.fystro@medisin.uio.no
Joar Røkke Fystro er postdoktor ved Senter for medisinsk etikk, Universitetet i Oslo og universitetslektor ved vernepleierutdanningen ved Fakultet for helse- og sosialvitenskap, Universitetet i Innlandet.
Articles by Joar Røkke Fystro
Non-attendance fee on the wrong track
- Joar Røkke Fystro
25.02.2026:
For the past quarter of a century, patients in Norway who fail to attend a hospital appointment have been charged a fee. The system now needs to be reviewed – or abolished entirely. Patients who fail to attend scheduled appointments at Norwegian hospitals without giving at least 24 hours' notice can...
When does pressure become inappropriate?
- Joar Røkke Fystro
10.01.2025:
The fear that someone might feel pressured into dying is a common argument against legalising assisted dying. But how compelling is this argument? The debate on assisted dying encompasses a range of ethical, political and practical issues. In the following, I do not take a position on the...
09.09.2024:
The new International Code of Medical Ethics from the World Medical Association stipulates that doctors may, in exceptional cases, disclose confidential information even when the patient does not or cannot consent to it. The World Medical Association (WMA) recently updated its International Code of...
Why are egg donors paid less than sperm donors?
- Joar Røkke Fystro
17.04.2024:
Donating eggs takes longer, and is more onerous, than donating sperm. Nevertheless, sperm donors are generally paid more than some egg donors. Is the debate about payment for egg donation influenced by gender stereotypes? After many years of political debate, egg donations became a reality in Norway...
Nonattendance fees versus legal protection?
- Joar Røkke Fystro
20.01.2023:
When the fee for not attending appointments in the specialist health services is increased to NOK 1 500 in 2023, we may ask whether the legal protection of patients should also be increased. In the state budget for 2023 we find a small, but important Christmas present: the nonattendance fee is being...
Vaccines aren't a reward
- Joar Røkke Fystro
14.04.2021:
Should past mistakes play a role in how medical assistance is prioritised? If so, the debate on the prioritisation of health resources will take on a whole new dimension. If Oslo receives more vaccine doses because of its infection rate, this would be a kind of 'reverse reward' (1). It was the mayor...
When law meets morality
- Joar Røkke Fystro
25.05.2020:
Who owns the information about potential illness – the person who takes the test or all those to whom this information applies? If a genetic test has produced information about a treatable disease, it is illegal to inform any relatives against the patient's will. The Biotechnology Act regulates such...