Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 6, 2026

A Clinical Trial Assessing the Safety, Efficacy, and Delivery of Olive-Oil-Based Three-Chamber Bags for Parenteral Nutrition
Published on: September 20, 2019
Noninferiority and Efficiency/Revenue Facilitation (NERF) Endpoints : Shifting Grounds of Argument in Health AI
S S Graham1, J Shiva Edward2, K R Harrison2
1The University of Texas at Austin, 208 W. 21 st St, STOP B5500, Parlin Hall, Room 3, Austin, TX, 78712, United States of America. ssg@utexas.edu.
Abstract:
This article investigates ethical hazards associated with argumentative shifts following the emergence of combined non-inferiority and efficiency/revenue facilitation (NERF) endpoints, with particular attention to research on artificial intelligence (AI) in health and medicine. The study presented here adopts a Toulmin argumentative analysis approach to investigate the dominant persuasive logics of twenty-three health AI trials evaluating NERF endpoints. In so doing, the article demonstrates how the argumentative logics of NERF trial reports shifts away from health outcomes as the putative evidence base for adopting novel interventions toward an argumentative model that prioritizes economic benefits over patient benefits. Ultimately, the article argues that new logic of NERF endpoints is consistent with and risks accelerating the harms to patient care that arise from increased financialization of the healthcare sector. If the use of NERF endpoints and attendant logics continue to grow unchecked, they could result in significant harms to patient health and well-being.
More Related Videos
06:28E-Patient Counseling Trial E-PACO: Computer Based Education versus Nurse Counseling for Patients to Prepare for Colonoscopy
Published on: August 1, 2019
05:56Evaluation of the Feasibility, Safety, and Accuracy of an Intraoperative High-intensity Focused Ultrasound Device for Treating Liver Metastases
Published on: January 9, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
Bioequivalence studies: Biowaivers
Bioequivalence Data: Statistical Interpretation
Clinical Trials: Overview
Bioequivalence of Drugs: Drugs with Multiple Indications
Clinical Trials
There are four phases in a clinical trial. A phase one...