Introducing a Future-Oriented Approach to Health-Care Technologies and Welfare Policies: An Innovative Ethics Project in Sweden.

This article is a description of a 2-year program (May 2017-April 2019) intended to introduce new approaches to addressing ethical issues resulting from the introduction of new health-care technologies and welfare policies. In contrast to the traditional retrospective approach in addressing ethical issues after they occur, this program intended to address ethical issues proactively, before they occurred. This future-focused approach is one way to better keep up with the acceleration of change that society confronts. This project introduced innovative approaches in dealing with unintended consequences and ethical issues resulting from the implementation of new health-care technologies and welfare policies in the Halland region of Sweden.