Medical Ethics Advisor
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Controversy Persists as States, Courts ‘Question, Push Back, and Challenge’ Brain Death Criteria
Guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology were recently endorsed by several organizations as a medical standard for determining brain death, despite a controversial Nevada Supreme Court ruling that casts doubt on this stance.
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Study: Clergy May View End-of-Life Decision-making Differently From Clinical Team
Most U.S. clergy reject the legalization of physician-aided dying, found a recent study.
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Is Surrogate Acting in Own Self-Interest, the Patient’s, or Both?
Possible conflicts of interest should be on a clinical team’s radar if surrogates make decisions that appear to conflict with patients’ known preferences. However, there are many more likely explanations.
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Ethics of Unilateral ‘Do Not Attempt Resuscitation’ Orders in Pediatric Care
A unilateral “do not attempt resuscitation” order only is appropriate in very limited circumstances in pediatric care, according to a recent paper.
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Medical Students Engaged by Advance Care Planning Training, but Few Act
An educational session successfully engaged medical students in learning about advance care planning conversations, both professionally and personally, found a recent study.
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Early DNR Status Adversely Affects Hospitals’ Quality Metrics
Higher mortality due to DNR rates results in classification of some hospitals as performance outliers, researchers found.
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Nurses, Physicians Consider Different Factors to Decide on Family Presence During Resuscitation
Nurses and acute care physicians consider different factors for making decisions on family presence during resuscitation, found a recent study.
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Ethicists Have More Evidence That Consults Are Effective, But Outcomes Inconsistent
Ethics consults are linked to high satisfaction and more likelihood of consensus, but outcomes used are inconsistent, found a recent study.
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Caregiver Knowledge Affects Mortality of Patients With Left Ventricular Assist Devices
How well caregivers understand the patient’s illness affects mortality rates of patients with left ventricular assist devices, found a study.
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Ethics of Withholding Fertility Services From Prospective Parents
Fertility programs may withhold services from prospective parents due to valid concerns that they’ll be unable to care adequately for offspring, according to an updated position statement from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.