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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) recommended in 2013 that predictive genetic testing for adult-onset disorders should not be done in children.
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Bioethicists can advocate for improved communication with family caregivers when a patient is going to be discharged from the hospital.
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The Food and Drug Administration recently held hearings on mitochondrial manipulation to determine whether additional research is needed before proceeding to clinical trials. Ethical concerns include:
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Advance directives enabling people with advanced dementia to refuse food and water as a way of hastening death are controversial.
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Disclosure after medical errors is still not done consistently, partly due to clinicians continued concerns regarding liability exposure.
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While most Dutch respondents to a 2011 survey indicated that they initiated open discussions about sedation proactively, American respondents reported fewer such discussions, with most occurring late in the dying process.
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Patients will soon be able to access information about their physicians financial relationships, as a result of The Physician Payment Sunshine Act. It is unclear how this information will affect the patient-physician relationship.
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Palliative care clinicians have been challenged to find measures of quality that are applicable to all patients in a variety of settings.
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Electronic health records (EHRs) often do not contain advance directives, documentation of the advance care planning process, or other information that can help guide decision-making at the end of life.
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All practitioners should anticipate and plan for incidental findings so that patients, research participants, and consumers are informed ahead of time about what to expect, and so that incidental findings are aptly communicated if they are found, according to a report from the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.