In the context of research on medical practices, which includes comparative effectiveness research and pragmatic clinical trials, empirical studies have begun to raise questions about the extent to which institutional review boards’ interpretations and applications of research regulations align with patients’ values. David Magnus, PhD is Thomas A. Raffin Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Ethics and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Stanford University, where he is Director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and co-Chair of the Ethics Committee for the Stanford Hospital. He is the former President of the Association of Bioethics Program Directors, and is the Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Bioethics. Publication