Medical Ethics Advisor
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When Is It Appropriate to Admit End-of-Life Patients to ICU?
ICU admission should be based on the alignment of uniquely beneficial treatment offered by the ICU, along with patients’ values and stated goals of care, the authors of a recent paper argued.
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Complex Language Hinders Informed Consent
It is rare for written consent forms used for cancer treatment with radiotherapy to meet recommended readability levels for patient materials, according to the authors of a recent analysis.
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Change in How Donated Livers Are Allocated Sparks Debate
A patient has needed a liver transplant for years, and one finally becomes available in her town. Instead, the organ is shipped by plane to someone hundreds of miles away. Because of a change in how donated livers are allocated, such a scenario could become common.
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Guidance on Grateful Patient Fundraising: No Consensus on Direct Solicitation by MDs
There is more attention paid to ethical implications of grateful patient fundraising, particularly when physicians solicit directly from their patients. Recent guidance could help physicians in this area.
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Pediatric Critical Care Providers at Risk for Compassion Fatigue
There has been much attention paid to burnout in physicians; in contrast, less attention has been paid to compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction.
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Chaplains Want More Inclusion in Patient Care Discussions
The key role chaplains perceived themselves to play was as liaisons between the patient, family, and medical team.
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New Ethical Guidance on Response to Physician Impairment
Questions about impairment should address a physician’s current status rather than his or her history, not distinguish between mental and physical health, and elicit objective information about functional status.
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Study: Shared Decision-Making Occurs Too Late
Close collaboration between ethics and the ICU clinical team can go a long way toward addressing this issue.
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Unexpected Findings on Web-Based Tool for ICU Surrogates
Family caregivers answered questions about the patient’s values, then the computer-based guide made treatment recommendations. However, these were disregarded in more than half of cases. Families frequently chose a more aggressive goal of treatment than the patient’s values suggested.