Medical Ethics Advisor
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Early Integrated Palliative Care Improved Cancer Patients’ Quality of Life
Early integrated palliative care improved quality of life for patients with newly diagnosed incurable cancers, found a recent study.
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‘Robust’ Error Disclosure Systems Needed for Pediatric Patients
Ethical obligations to disclose medical errors in the pediatric setting are very similar to those involving competent adults. Experts can provide guidance on how to frame information about a medical error in ways appropriate to the developmental, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual needs of each child.
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Study: Trial Results for New Neurological Drugs Often Go Unpublished
Results of clinical trials for “stalled” neurological drugs — those which had at least one completed Phase III trial but failed to receive FDA approval — are heavily underreported, found a new study.
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Advance Care Planning for Patients With Hematologic Malignancies
Misconceptions among both patients and clinicians about the role of palliative care and its relationship to “aggressive treatment” of hematologic malignancies contribute to high rates of aggressive interventions at the end of life, and a high proportion of in-hospital deaths.
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Conversations on Ethics of Difficult Cases Often Help Clinical Team
Clinicians found debriefing sessions after difficult cases helpful because they permitted the discussion of values, found a recent study.
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Study: Biggest Barrier to Advance Care Planning Is Time
Lack of time and skill are two barriers to advance care planning cited by physicians, according to recent research. There also is a lack of clarity as to who is responsible for these difficult discussions.
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Decisional Conflict Common for Surrogates of ICU Patients
A recent study looked at whether the decision-making process plays a role in the psychological morbidity associated with being a surrogate in the ICU.
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Paper Calls for More Transparency of Industry-sponsored Clinical Trials
A recent paper offers consensus recommendations and examples of best practices from the published clinical trial literature to help authors and trial sponsors communicate drug adverse events in a more informative and clinically meaningful manner.
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Are Patients Prepared for Reality of Life With Implantable Devices?
Patients may view cardiac implantable electronic devices as a lifesaver — without fully understanding quality of life issues.
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Study Identifies Surprising Priorities of Chronically Critically Ill Patients
For chronically critically ill patients and their surrogates, life prolongation fell below cognitive impact and physical function goals for the majority of people surveyed. This was true for both patients and families.