The Leapfrog Group wants to see hospitals ensuring bias is not undermining the quality of care delivered to particular patients. From a billing standpoint, fear of costs prevents some from seeking needed care.
Updated guidelines offer specific recommendations for embryo research, stem cell embryo models, organoids, chimeras, germline genome editing, and mitochondrial replacement techniques. Public support for controversial research is an overarching goal.
Supporting families faced with making critical decisions for incapacitated loved ones is a core ethical duty for ICU clinicians. Yet little is known about family characteristics that predict their dissatisfaction with support during decision-making.
Chaplains often serve on ethics committees, as ethics consultants, and as institutional review board members. Yet there are no standardized ethics curricula in Clinical Pastoral Education programs.
Ethical questions on organ transplantation have focused mainly on resource allocation — access to transplantation and prioritization of donor organs. A recent analysis revealed few consults were called for questions about appropriate resource allocation.
Usually, there is plenty of time for patients or families to decide if they want to be involved in a clinical trial, and there is adequate time for a thorough informed consent process. It’s a bit different in the ICU.
