Medical Ethics Advisor – September 1, 2013
September 1, 2013
View Issues
-
Is there a conflict over patient’s wishes? Involve clinical ethicists!
Clinical ethicists can help surrogate decision makers and clinicians to resolve conflicts over a patient's end-of-life wishes by facilitating communication between involved parties and exploring difficult questions. -
Clinicians face pressure to "keep going"
Clinicians may face pressure from family members to keep going when there is concern that the patient might not have wanted aggressive end-of-life interventions, or the health care team considers palliation in the patients best interests. -
As physician incentives grow, so do ethical concerns
Policies expanding physician performance incentives highlight the importance of considering ethical implications when constructing systems. -
"Big data" in health care raises some ethical concerns
Learning health care systems" necessitate the collection of large amounts of data electronically during every health care encounter. -
Unintended consequences are possible with genetic screening
Interpretation of results of genetic screening tests is potentially problematic for both providers and patients, and misunderstandings can arise regarding their implications. -
Ethical issues involving medical use of marijuana
Ethical issues involving the medical use of marijuana include whether it is possible for the benefits to exceed its known risks, and that many physicians making recommendations operate on the margins of the medical community.