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To the Editor: In Dr Jobe's editorial¹ on a study of home apnea monitors in infants,² he notes that "a home monitoring industry . . . has now operated for many years without . . . a sound scientific foundation." He finds that the study casts further such doubt on the usefulness of home monitoring and concludes that monitoring should be severely curtailed. However, Jobe does not address the ethical and legal aspects of the inappropriate use of home monitors.

First, physicians who have simply ordered this technology without seeking parents' informed consent have erred. Physicians should seek consent for all interventions, but even more so with an unproven technology. Physicians should clearly disclose to parents the lack of demonstrated benefit. Second, conversation about the prospect of home monitoring should include disclosure of its highly intrusive nature, rate of false alarms, likely effects on the family, and other realities of . . . [Full Text of this Article]