Medical Ethics Advisor
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Are ethical responses clear to providers if family requests inappropriate care?
Lawrence J. Schneiderman, MD, founding co-chair of the University of California, San Diego Medical Center’s Ethics Committee, notes one of the more extreme views that emerged during the “patient’s rights” movement is that patients have a right to receive any treatments they wish, and that physicians should not impose their “paternalistic” power.
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Pathologists ill-prepared to disclose errors, says research
Virtually all pathologists (97%) reported being involved in a minor or serious error, but only about 39% knew whether the error had been conveyed to the patient, according to a recent survey of 106 pathologists, presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the College of American Pathologists.
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Troubling social justice issues stem from cost of dementia care
Healthcare and caregiving costs for dementia patients in the final five years of life are greater than for patients with cancer, heart disease and other illnesses, according to a recent study.
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Ethical debate rages on gene-editing technology
International organizations are urging the scientific community to allow time for ethical debate on new human gene-editing technologies.
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ED nurses ID barriers to ethical end-of-life care
Researchers surveyed 1,879 nurses and held focus groups with 17 nurses about care of end-of-life patients, educational needs, availability of resources, and barriers to safe and effective care.
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Growing focus on end-of-life and palliative care in ED setting
Multiple studies demonstrate that screening and referral for palliative care consultation is feasible in the emergency department setting.
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Were study’s findings misleading?
The “slanting” of data published in the scientific literature was recently spotlighted after an independent analysis suggested a psychiatric drug did not show efficacy, contradicting a previous study’s conclusions.
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Growing evidence that teleconsultation can support palliative care provision
There is growing evidence that telepalliative care consultation is an effective approach, but fee-for-service systems and lack of reimbursement are obstacles.
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Surprising data on nursing homes and “culture change”
Some nursing homes that rely heavily on Medicaid funding have implemented “culture change” or palliative care, a recent study found.
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Access to mental healthcare is “question of social justice”
Access to equal benefits and qualified providers remains difficult for many insured Americans, despite the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, according to a recent health policy brief.