Medical Ethics Advisor – March 1, 2019
March 1, 2019
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Updated Ethics Manual Addresses Many New Realities in Clinical Practice
Genetic testing, the protection of human subjects, social media professionalism, precision medicine and genetics, telemedicine, and physician volunteerism are just some of the ethical challenges clinicians now face.
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‘Tremendous Need’ for Research on EMRs and Advance Care Plans
Despite the proliferation of EMRs, there is little evidence of how useful they are in improving advance care planning.
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Providers Experience Moral Distress in Pediatric Mental Healthcare
Limited community resources, such as lack of available inpatient beds, are among the issues facing clinicians.
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Clinicians Believe Chaplains Helpful — But Call on Them Infrequently
One study found that chaplain consults were rare, mainly reserved for dying patients, and usually occurred in the last 24 hours of life or even after death.
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Study: Many POLST Forms Completed by Surrogates
Surrogate preferences on Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment forms were 60% less likely to choose “all treatment” than patients who made their own decisions, found a new study.
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Patients With LVADs More Likely to Die in Hospitals
LVADs are becoming increasingly common, and researchers say they expect to see more patients with LVADs dying at home.
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Much Common Ground Between Ethics and Hospital Leadership
Increasingly, hospital leaders are recognizing that ethics expertise “can help in the boardroom as well as at the bedside,” experts say.
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How Effective Is Ethics? Ask Clinicians, Examine Processes
Researchers found some unexpected variations between the requests for ethics consults and the retrospective reports from the clinicians who made the request.
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Policies Can Set Boundaries, Ensure Ethical Discharges
Often, clinicians perceive the discharge plan is focused on the question of “What are we obliged to do?” instead of “What should we do?”