Medical Ethics
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Families’ Surprising Opinions on End-of-Life ICU Care
Intensive care units may be associated with poor-quality end-of-life care. A recent study’s findings call that assumption into question — at least from the family’s perspective.
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Ethicists Offer Much-Needed Support to Clinicians with Moral Distress
The issue of moral distress is nothing new in healthcare, but the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the problem. Read on to learn how ethicists can help colleagues sort through unusual feelings.
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Disciplinary Action, Terminations, Gag Orders: ‘Avalanche Effect’
When the COVID-19 pandemic started, hospitals suddenly had to determine how to ration scarce critical care resources. Hospitals could not change the fact they were caught without enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and could not immediately obtain more of it. However, they could control whether they responded ethically. Some hospitals imposed gag orders on staff, barring them from voicing concerns about PPE publicly. Nurses and physicians have been disciplined or threatened with termination for reporting inadequate PPE on social media.
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Making Critical Care Triage Policies Transparent to Patients, Community
Certain hospitals are including information on their critical care triage policies in admission packets to explain how care or supplies will be allocated if rationing becomes necessary. Some clinicians feel ethically obligated to inform everyone up front of the possibility. Others think it is better to do so only if and when it becomes necessary.
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Clinical Ethicists ‘Doubling Down’ on Efforts as Hospitals Adjust to New Normal
The COVID-19 pandemic made ethics committees players of central importance. Experts highlight areas around which ethicists can shape the conversation.
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Healthcare Workers’ Well-Being Is Ethical Concern During Pandemic
Half of 1,257 healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients in 34 hospitals in China reported depression, 45% reported anxiety, 34% reported insomnia, and 71.5% reported psychological distress, according to a recent study. These findings point to significant ethical concerns regarding clinicians’ well-being.
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Researchers Identify Ethical Concerns with Pragmatic Trials
Pragmatic trials raise some new ethical issues that need greater attention, according to the authors of a recent study.
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Unique Ethical Concerns for Study Participants in Neuroscience Research
Innovative neuroscience research is vital, but individuals with mental illness pose some unique ethical concerns in terms of their participation. The results of a recent study provided some reassurance on the decision-making processes of individuals.
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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.