An honest broker is an entity that keeps sets of private information but distributes parts of those sets to other entities who should not have access to the entire set. Honest brokers often work in

clinical research Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treatm ...

with

biological specimens A biological specimen (also called a biospecimen) is a biological laboratory specimen held by a biorepository for research. Such a specimen would be taken by sampling so as to be representative of any other specimen taken from the source of ...

; in that case, donors of specimens allow researchers to do research on those specimens, but typically want their specimen de-identified by having protected health information separated from it. The honest broker would keep both the specimen and associated protected health information, but only allow researchers to have access to the specimen without the protected health information.

Characteristics

Honest brokers are typically appointed to a research project by an

institutional review board An institutional review board (IRB), also known as an independent ethics committee (IEC), ethical review board (ERB), or research ethics board (REB), is a committee that applies research ethics by reviewing the methods proposed for research to ens ...

. They provide data from clinical and research sources for research use only and in accordance with policies that prohibit re-identification. Organizations conducting

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

research have identified access to biological specimens as a top priority, and therefore honest broker systems are key to research because they increase access to specimens.

Diplomacy

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

an "honest broker" is an entity (individual or organisation) that is accepted by all sides in a negotiation as impartial. Neutrality does not equal an absence of interest; rather, the interest of the honest broker lies in a solution, without preference for either party involved in the conflict. German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck was the first to use the term (applied to himself) in connection with the 1878

Congress of Berlin The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...

.The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
The United States as an Honest Broker - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
accessdate: May 30, 2018

References

{{reflist Diplomacy Medical ethics Research ethics Biobanks Privacy