Medical Ethics Advisor
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Survey Reveals Widespread Discrimination in Healthcare
In addition to racial/ethnic discrimination, survey respondents reported discrimination based on education, income level, weight, sex, and age. Ethicists play a major role in applying methodological and theoretical tools to respond effectively to this problem.
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‘Blatant Wrongdoing’: Wrongful Prolongation of Life Cases Surge
An expert witness who has testified in multiple wrongful prolongation of life cases and has advised health systems on how to avoid these cases shares helpful advice in the Q&A.
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Hospitals Sued for Wrongful Prolongation of Life: Ethicists Offer Unique Expertise
The point of the litigation is it is a medical error to provide too much treatment, just as it is to provide too little treatment. If it is clear patients did not want it, then clinicians should not provide it.
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Nurse ‘Ambassador’ Programs Pose Significant Ethical Concerns
Nurses who are approached by a drug company for this kind of position should think twice about becoming involved in this new role. Consider the ethical challenges that may present. Discuss with the company how to handle these.
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Nurse Leaders Report Ethical Dilemmas Related to Patient Care, Work Environment
Patient care issues and work environment issues require critical reasoning. Nurse leaders need help with both of these issues. Ethicists could help by taking a more active role in developing educational content for nurse leaders.
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Altruism Is Factor in Perceived Ethical Obligation to Share Health Data
Research participation often is viewed as a selfless act, with participants enrolling in studies with little expectation of reward or benefit in return. The assumption is most participate with the anticipation findings from research will help others. Investigators explored if this perception also was true in terms of allowing one’s health information to be used.
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Ongoing Ethical Concerns with Misleading Advertising by Cancer Centers
Recent guidance outlines ethical concerns when cancer centers advertise directly to the public. The authors recommend these centers ensure fair and balanced promotion of cancer services, avoid exaggeration of claims, and provide data and statistics to support direct and implied assertions of treatment success.
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Ethics Services Want to Know How Consult Data Compare to Other Hospitals
Ethics services often struggle to obtain data to improve the quality of consults even at their own hospitals, let alone outside institutions. Yet some ethicists are forging ahead with this challenging proposition, trying to move from the qualitative to the quantitative.
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Patients, Families Viewing Ethics Consult Notes in Real Time
In reading ethics notes, clinicians often glean insights on how the ethics service contributes to patient care. Patients, along with their surrogates and proxies, will be able to learn from such consultations. For some ethicists, this may be a good time to reassess the goals of ethics notes.
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Quality of Life Important to ICU Patients, But Clinicians Lack Data
This underscores how clinicians must start keeping track of these outcomes to improve their ability to predict them and provide patients and families with information they want.