Does the Shoe Fit? Ethical, Legal, and Policy Considerations of Global Positioning System Shoes for Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease.

As the overall incidence of Alzheimer's disease rises, the burden on caregivers and law enforcement institutions will increase to find individuals who wander. As such, technological innovations that could reduce this burden will become increasingly important. One such innovation is the GPS Shoe. As with any innovation involving the transfer of personal data to third parties, potential pitfalls with respect to loss of privacy and inadequate consent counterbalance the substantial promise of GPS shoes. To some extent, advance planning can mitigate these concerns, wherein individuals willingly elect to be monitored before their impairments progress to a stage that makes such authorization impractical. Nonetheless, tension may arise between the peace of mind of caregivers and family members and other important considerations at the intersection of autonomy, privacy, dignity, and consent. Ultimately, confronting ethical, legal, and policy considerations at the front end of product development and deployment will help ensure that new technologies are used wisely and that their lifesaving potential is realized.