Medical Ethics Advisor
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Establishing the Right Policies on Decision-Making for Unrepresented ICU Patients
A new policy statement recommends institutions prevent patients from becoming unrepresented in the first place by offering advance care planning. Conduct thorough capacity assessments and search for potential surrogates before assuming patients are unrepresented.
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Black Researchers at Disadvantage for NIH Funding
Three separate analyses reveal gaps in funding, peer review scores, and publication rates.
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Ethical Responses If Patients Ask for Provider of Different Race
If mishandled, the situation can result in problems ranging from bad clinical outcomes to Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act violations — even litigation.
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Ethics Can Help Drive Efforts to Address Racial Disparities in Healthcare
The healthcare industry must recognize that it is not enough to avoid actions that are affirmatively biased against minority groups. It takes affirmative efforts to overcome a deeply ingrained history of exclusion.
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Ethical Processes Needed When Patients Ask to Stop Left Ventricular Assist Devices
Of patients with left ventricular assist devices, about half end up deciding to withdraw them. Investigators noticed that when the patient was the one making the request, the entire decision-making process seemed to take longer.
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Many Hospitals Lacked Ventilator Triage Policies When COVID-19 Pandemic Hit
More than half of institutions did not have ventilator triage policies in place when the pandemic arrived, according to the authors of a study.
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Some Hospitalized Patients Admitted to ICU, Contrary to Stated Wishes
Research has demonstrated that completed Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms can help people with chronic illness avoid unwanted hospitalizations and CPR. However, there is more to learn about what happens when patients with POLST forms are admitted to the hospital near the end of life.
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Survey: Nurses Say They Lack Direct Role in Informed Consent
Researchers interviewed 20 registered nurses from various clinical settings at a large academic medical center. All but one agreed patient safety is directly linked to how well patients understand informed consent.
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Patients Want to Know if Treatment Is No Better than Placebo
Many patients may be surprised to find out the treatment they are taking is not any better than a placebo. Clinicians may think this is no big deal, as long as the person is feeling better and is grateful.
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Burnout Prevention Is Central Ethical Concern for Hospitals
Hospitals are facing an immediate ethical challenge to restore the mental health and wellness of clinical staff. This varies greatly from hospital to hospital. Some have done a lot of work around this area, while others have not focused on it as much. Above all, hospitals need to maintain clear lines of communication with staff about the situation.