Medical Ethics Advisor
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Do substance abusers have capacity to consent to participate in research?
When researchers assessed the capacity of addicted individuals to provide consent to research, they found that about two-thirds of participants had decisional capacity.
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New data on moral distress in the ED
ED nurses participating in focus groups described a profound feeling of not being able to provide patient care as they wanted, a recent study reported.
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Is family “waiting for a miracle,” yet aggressive care is inappropriate?
Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series on the role of chaplains in the hospital setting. In this story, we explore how chaplains can help to resolve conflicts over whether to withdraw life-sustaining interventions. Next month, we’ll report on how chaplains and ethicists can work together to ensure ethical care.
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The Highs and the Lows
The US has more than double the number of ICU admissions of other countries but has fewer in-hospital deaths.
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New guidance on ethics of charity dental clinics
Informed consent and lack of access to necessary follow-up care are two ethical concerns with charity clinics offering free dental care, according to a white paper from the American Dental Association.
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Telemedicine sees rapid growth
Almost all major healthcare systems are adopting some form of telehealth, and it is rapidly becoming a standard of care, says David A. Fleming, MD, MA, MACP, director of University of Missouri’s Center for Health Ethics in Columbia.
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Ebola outbreak brought unprecedented ethical challenges
Sangeeta Lamba, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine and surgery at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, says Ebola was one of the biggest systemwide ethical challenges she’s seen in her career. “Nothing has challenged us more in emergency medicine, in the ethical realm, than Ebola,” she says.
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Complex consent process is “mired in ethical problems”
Is a prospective research participant struggling to comprehend a lengthy form on the risks and benefits of the study? “A complex consent process is mired in ethical problems,” says Linda Aldoory, PhD, an associate professor of communication at the University of Maryland in College Park.
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Are opioid ‘pain agreements’ on solid ethical ground?
Failure to prescribe opioid analgesics in a manner that reflects “pharmacovigilance” can expose a physician not only to charges of unprofessional practice, but in extreme cases, even criminal prosecution, warns Ben A. Rich, JD, PhD, emeritus professor of internal medicine (Bioethics) at UC Davis School of Medicine. Malpractice lawsuits alleging the physician’s prescribing led to drug-addicted patients are another concern.
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Good ethical policies can empower clinicians and improve bottom line
While ethics consults typically focus on individual patients’ unique situations, many involve scenarios that recur repeatedly. These are ideally addressed at an organizationwide level, according to Edward J. Dunn, MD, ScD, a fellow in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at Wright State University in Dayton, OH. Dunn is a former director of the Integrated Ethics Program at Lexington (KY) VA Medical Center.