Medical Ethics Advisor – February 1, 2016
February 1, 2016
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Growing focus on end-of-life and palliative care in ED setting
Multiple studies demonstrate that screening and referral for palliative care consultation is feasible in the emergency department setting.
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ED nurses ID barriers to ethical end-of-life care
Researchers surveyed 1,879 nurses and held focus groups with 17 nurses about care of end-of-life patients, educational needs, availability of resources, and barriers to safe and effective care.
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Ethical debate rages on gene-editing technology
International organizations are urging the scientific community to allow time for ethical debate on new human gene-editing technologies.
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Troubling social justice issues stem from cost of dementia care
Healthcare and caregiving costs for dementia patients in the final five years of life are greater than for patients with cancer, heart disease and other illnesses, according to a recent study.
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Are ethical responses clear to providers if family requests inappropriate care?
Lawrence J. Schneiderman, MD, founding co-chair of the University of California, San Diego Medical Center’s Ethics Committee, notes one of the more extreme views that emerged during the “patient’s rights” movement is that patients have a right to receive any treatments they wish, and that physicians should not impose their “paternalistic” power.
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Updated nursing Code of Ethics
The American Nurses Association recently revised its Code of Ethics, which had not been updated since 2001.
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Pathologists ill-prepared to disclose errors, says research
Virtually all pathologists (97%) reported being involved in a minor or serious error, but only about 39% knew whether the error had been conveyed to the patient, according to a recent survey of 106 pathologists, presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the College of American Pathologists.