Medical Ethics
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Shortcuts in Clinical Trials May Cause More Harm Than Good
Dozens of potential treatments for COVID-19 are under investigation: existing antiretrovirals, anti-malaria drugs, monoclonal antibodies, and Chinese traditional medicines among them. Additionally, companies are rapidly developing new drugs. But poorly designed studies subject patients to the risks of adverse events without learning if the intervention works.
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Ethics, Case Managers, and the Value Proposition
The pressures case managers face are a reality in a value-based healthcare system. Cost of care and penalties for readmissions are the bottom line in every institution, and that pressure will affect how well case managers perform in their everyday duties. To uphold their ethical tenets, and advocate in the best interests of their patients, a case manager must be prepared to handle these pressures.
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Ethics Curriculum Feasible for OB/GYN Faculty
Much ethics education focuses on students and residents, but practicing physicians also need ethics expertise. An ethics and professional curriculum was piloted for faculty in obstetrics and gynecology.
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Social Media Effective Tool to Recruit Youth for Research Studies
Researchers are turning to social media to recruit participants, with a recent study revealing that Instagram and Snapchat are effective ways to reach youth.
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Chinese Gene Edit Researcher Receives Three-Year Sentence
A rogue scientist who shocked the research community by genetically editing human embryos has been sentenced to three years in prison in China, according to the state-run press.
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IRB Teaches Research Teams How to Write Key Informed Consent Information
The revised Common Rule charged IRBs with writing concise and focused informed consent information. The challenge for IRBs is how to achieve this. The Colorado Multiple IRB at the University of Colorado has found a novel solution: The IRB trained staff on how to write key information consistently. They also added these tasks to the IRB staff’s workload without delaying IRB reviews, or having to use additional staff resources.
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Pregnant Women Face ‘Default’ Exclusion From Clinical Trials
With the revised Common Rule removing pregnant women from the list of “vulnerable populations” in 2019, it is time for IRBs to reconsider the default exclusion of expectant mothers from clinical trials, a bioethicist argued in a new paper.
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Building Foundational Trust Among Minority Populations Is First Step
Lack of trust is an important issue affecting recruitment of underrepresented minorities in research studies. When there is little trust for medical and research professionals among a particular underrepresented minority group, it is important for research organizations to build a foundation for trust before recruiting people for a particular study. Trust issues can be ingrained in the culture, or based on individuals’ personal experiences in healthcare.
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Money Matters: Payment to Research Participants ‘Haphazard’
The authors of a new study on payment to research participants underscored concerns that “undue influence” of higher payments may be overemphasized in compensation to human subjects. They found wide variation of payment practices across studies in the same region and populations, suggesting a “haphazard” approach to compensation for research participation.
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Right to Try in Oncology: Gatekeepers or Mercenaries?
While the federal Right to Try law passed in 2018 has thus far resulted in little activity, bioethicists expect oncology will be on the frontlines of an anticipated increase in requests for investigational new drugs.