Medical Ethics Advisor Medical Newsletter

Growing Ethical Concerns Surround AI Therapy Chatbots

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots increasingly are used for mental health support, but ethicists warn of risks, including bias, loss of autonomy, privacy breaches, and overreliance on unvalidated tools. A new ethical framework emphasizes transparency, inclusivity, and early ethicist involvement in AI design and deployment.

Ethical Considerations Involving Timing of Decision to Withdraw Life-Sustaining Therapy

Withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy often occurs prematurely because of uncertainty and institutional culture. Studies reveal machine learning insights into bias and ethical misuse of prognostic tools, underscoring the need for patience, communication, and ethics consultation before irreversible withdrawal decisions.

Drug Side Effects, Technology-Related Risks Often Are Conveyed Inadequately

Informed consent forms frequently omit crucial information about drug side effects and technology-related risks in research. Studies call for clearer disclosure on data governance, digital risks, participant rights, and vendor accountability to uphold transparency, equity, and participant autonomy.

Unique Ethical Dilemmas Occur in Long-Term Care Settings: Staff Need Ethics Resources

Long-term care facilities face ethical challenges involving patient dignity, resource use, and business practices. Research highlights communication issues, caregiver shortages, and limited ethics support, urging institutions to strengthen ethics committees, palliative access, and policy alignment with patient-centered, equitable care standards.

Oncologists Face Serious Ethical Dilemmas Caused by Persistent Drug Shortages

Persistent cancer drug shortages force oncologists into ethically fraught choices about rationing and patient prioritization. Shortages disrupt care and research, prompting calls for institutional ethics committees, transparent allocation criteria, and national reforms to ensure equitable access and safer drug supply chains.

Clinicians Fail to Address Risks of Medical Interventions for Patients with Dementia

Clinicians often overlook dementia-specific risks when recommending interventions, leading to uninformed consent and decisional regret among caregivers. Supported and shared decision-making frameworks can promote autonomy, respect, and ethical care tailored to patients’ cognitive capacity and evolving goals.

Inadequate, Missing, or Inaccessible Goals of Care Documentation Is Ethical Concern

Goals-of-care documentation remains inconsistent and incomplete, limiting goal-concordant care. Research reveals disparities across patient groups and delayed documentation near death, emphasizing the role of ethicists in promoting early, equitable, artificial intelligence-assisted, and standardized documentation of patient preferences and end-of-life wishes.