Medical Ethics Advisor
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Cystic fibrosis patients face ethical issues with direct-to-consumer genetic testing
Researchers surveyed 47 patients with cystic fibrosis and 65 parents of children with cystic fibrosis to assess their views on direct-to-consumer carrier tests; most indicated they preferred healthcare systems to provide testing, as opposed to commercial companies.
Choose your words carefully
A family member hearing certain words is unlikely to understand the provider’s likely meaning that the patient is in the dying process and that aggressive treatments are likely to do more harm than good.
Patients using social media to lobby for access to investigational drugs
Social media campaigns have successfully pressured drug companies to approve some requests for investigational drugs for terminally ill patients under expanded access programs, but this raises significant ethical concerns.
Study’s findings can improve advance care planning for heart failure patients
Advance care planning for heart failure patients can be improved by basing discussions on four transitions commonly experienced by patients and caregivers, a recent study suggests.
Medicare proposes paying for advance care planning
Proposed changes to the 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule includes a provision for two new advance care planning codes.
Patient records doctor’s insulting comments: Jury awards $500,000
A highly publicized lawsuit involving a sedated patient whose smartphone recorded a doctor’s insulting comments resulted in a recent $500,000 jury verdict.
IC requirements may be met, but do subjects comprehend what they sign?
There is a gap between what is required in the informed consent process for human subjects research, and the reality of how well the information is actually understood by participants. This was the focus of a March 2015 workshop convened by the Institute of Medicine’s Roundtable on Health Literacy.
Do physicians assume they know older patients’ wishes?
Clinicians often make inaccurate assumptions about older adults’ goals and cognitive capacity. This can lead to unwanted aggressive care or undertreatment.
COPD symptoms untreated prior to palliative medicine referral
Many physical and psychological symptoms were untreated prior to patients with COPD being seen in the outpatient palliative medicine clinic, according to a recent survey.
Burnout common among transplant surgeons
Forty percent of 218 transplant surgeons surveyed reported high levels of emotional exhaustion, according to a recent study conducted at the Henry Ford Transplant Institute in Detroit.