Medical Ethics Advisor
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Industry Payments to Surgeons Increased Despite Transparency Requirements
Despite the fact data on industry payments are publicly available, it does not appear to be causing patients to be suspicious of doctors’ integrity. To many patients, the transparency over financial ties suggests the physician is straightforward and can be trusted. Patients generally do not focus on the potentially problematic implications of clinicians accepting payments from industry.
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Incentives for Online Surveys Boost Research Participation, But Fraud Remains a Concern
All researchers should consider fraud detection safeguards early in the study planning and design process. Allot the necessary time and resources to ongoing, rigorous data quality checks, and invest in fraud detection technology.
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Remote Consults Expand Reach of Ethics, But Complex Cases Remain Challenging
It is too difficult for an ethicist to mediate and facilitate if he or she is not physically present in the room.
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Single IRB Concerns Include IT Limitations, Process Variations
Consistency, standardization, speed and efficiency, and simplification are reported benefits. Challenges include timeliness of the research review process, insufficient communication, and uncertainty at local institutions.
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Screening Tests to Determine Study Eligibility Are Not Foolproof
IRBs and researchers should expand eligibility criteria to diversify representation, remove extraneous inclusion/exclusion criteria, and eliminate some screening tests if they are not strictly necessary, particularly tests that produce many false-negative or false-positive results.
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New Data on IRB Members’ Perceptions of Violations
Failure to properly store data and neglecting to maintain project records are the two most common IRB violations, according to a recent survey of 242 faculty members at research-intensive universities in the United States.
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Patients Can Request Ethics Consults, But Almost None Do
In a recently published paper, the authors reported if patients are empowered to ask for ethics consults, it can mean more patient-centered care, better shared decision-making, and a stronger patient/physician relationship.
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Excluding People with Serious Mental Illness from Research Is Ethical Problem
With current treatment methods, many individuals with serious mental illness function well, maintain employment, hold valued roles in their communities, and can consent to and participate in research.
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Novel Ethics Curriculum for Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
At three academic institutions, faculty members recently piloted 13 ethics modules for neonatology fellows. Of the 44 neonatology fellows who participated, baseline ethics knowledge and confidence in addressing ethical dilemmas improved significantly.
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Data Show Larger-Than-Expected Market for Ethics Consultation Training
Based on the survey responses collected from participants at hundreds of U.S. hospitals, researchers estimated approximately 62,000 individuals would benefit from basic-level training on how to perform ethics consultation, and 37,000 would benefit from advanced-level training.