Medical Ethics
RSSArticles
-
Clinicians’ Confusion over Brain Death Criteria Persists
There are inconsistencies between standards and institutional protocols and clinical practice. Inconsistencies can erode clinician and public trust in the determination of death by neurologic criteria. Inconsistencies also can cause false-positive determinations in which a patient is incorrectly determined to be dead. Ethicists should advocate for ensuring clinicians involved in the determination of death by neurologic criteria are equipped with appropriate expertise.
-
Expedited Approval of Medications Calls Evidence Standards into Question
Patients want quick access to medications that are proven safe and effective. But how fast is too fast?
-
Industry Payments to Surgeons Increased Despite Transparency Requirements
Despite the fact data on industry payments are publicly available, it does not appear to be causing patients to be suspicious of doctors’ integrity. To many patients, the transparency over financial ties suggests the physician is straightforward and can be trusted. Patients generally do not focus on the potentially problematic implications of clinicians accepting payments from industry.
-
Incentives for Online Surveys Boost Research Participation, But Fraud Remains a Concern
All researchers should consider fraud detection safeguards early in the study planning and design process. Allot the necessary time and resources to ongoing, rigorous data quality checks, and invest in fraud detection technology.
-
Survey Indicates Americans Favor Including Children in Clinical Trial Research
But as risk rises, respondents were less supportive of the notion.
-
Artificial Intelligence Documentation Assistant Shows Promise for Healthcare Charting
Advocates are seeking relief for physicians overburdened with too many administrative tasks.
-
Most PICU Clinicians Report Moral Distress During COVID-19 Pandemic
Ethicists should join rounds on various units, routinely conduct multiprofessional team debriefing sessions within departments and units, and offer educational workshops on ethical frameworks.
-
Remote Consults Expand Reach of Ethics, But Complex Cases Remain Challenging
It is too difficult for an ethicist to mediate and facilitate if he or she is not physically present in the room.
-
Medical Residents Know Little About Surrogate Decision-Making Laws
Ethicists can educate clinicians about how to identify appropriate decision-makers and the roles proxies and surrogates ought to play in patient care. Equally important is ensuring providers know where to go for help if such questions arise.
-
Infectious Complications Carry Ethical Implications for End-of-Life Care
Many assume antibiotics are a simple solution to infectious complications, which is not always the case. Clinicians must explain the downstream effects of traumatic injuries and ICU care to families in detail so they can see how each bump in the road will affect the patient.