Medical Ethics
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Ethics Consults Focus on the Criteria Used to Determine Death
Some families simply need more time to process strong emotional reactions and grief. Establishing trust can help resolve these cases. Particularly in critical care, it is important from the moment that clinicians meet a family to start to build a good therapeutic relationship with them.
Higher Mortality Rates Among ICU Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease
Consider early and timely palliative care services instead of the ICU. Early exposure to palliative care may improve both survivability and quality of life, and may lower the risk of hospital-acquired infections.
Clinicians Need Proactive Approach to Ensure Ethical Artificial Intelligence Use
Rather than reacting to associated risks, clinicians implementing AI algorithms should ensure policies and safeguards are in place and routinely assess them. They also can be advocates for such protections through interactions with industries and organizations, as well as mentorship of trainees.
Literature Review Reveals Gaps in Research on Assisted Reproductive Technologies
Ethicists should consider the potential for discrimination and inequality in access to assisted reproductive technologies, and help make these solutions available to all who need them, regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or other factors.
To Pay or Not to Pay: Researchers Grapple with Implications of Reimbursing Study Participants
Pushback on paying participants comes from both researchers and IRBs. From the researcher’s perspective, concerns revolve around budgetary limitations and how much they can afford to pay. IRBs generally are more concerned about payment amounts causing undue influence on participation.
Patients Say Researchers Are Ethically Obligated to Return Study Data
Returning patient-reported outcome data to study participants is a growing priority for researchers. it is important to do it in a way that is comprehensible, actionable, and aligned with participants’ preferences.
Growing Concerns About Health Data Use
A group recently outlined ethical, legal, and societal standards for data collection, use, and reuse to which researchers, technology companies, and others can be held accountable. The statement assures people the stewardship of their data is taken seriously, and that the company is committed to using it ethically.
Does Current IRB System Ensure Ethical Research?
A consensus is needed for how to measure IRB quality or effectiveness, and more inspections are needed to ensure instances of IRB noncompliance are identified, according to the authors of a recent report.
Physicians Suggest Small But Important Update to Standards for Determining Death
The Uniform Law Commission is debating possible revisions to the Uniform Determination of Death Act.
Biden Administration Releases 10 Drugs for Price Negotiation
Medications represent 20% of the total Medicare Part D gross covered prescription costs.