Medical Ethics Advisor 2005-12-01

Waking up under the knife: Potential preventive monitoring under debate

Many anesthesiologists say its what they fear second only to a patient dying during surgery: A patient wakes up during an operation and, though feeling and hearing what is happening to him or her, is incapable of letting the surgical team know.

Creating, modifying ethics committee? Choose model

Ethics committees have, in the past three decades, become ubiquitous in American hospitals. But while most hospitals have ethics committees, the makeup of those committees can vary depending on the institution they serve.

Organ allocation rule ends in a hospital’s supsension

An apparent violation of federal organ transplantation procedures at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles and the subsequent voluntary suspension of transplants at the hospital have directed new scrutiny on the process by which donor organs are distributed in the United States.

100,000 Lives Campaign exceeds participation goal

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) announced its 100,000 Lives Campaign one year ago, with the lofty goal of enlisting 1,500 to 2,000 hospitals that would pledge to adopt six initiatives that, if implemented, would save 100,000 lives over an 18-month period by preventing avoidable medical errors.

Testing those who cannot give informed consent

Is it ethical to enroll an elderly person with Alzheimers disease in a new research study, even if he or she doesnt really understand what it entails? What if the research has real risks, is unlikely to benefit the patient, but could lead to advances that will help future patients with Alzheimers?

Ethics of cost-driven vs. results-driven health care

With patients being required to pay more of their medical costs, a study getting under way at Wake Forest (NC) University School of Medicine looks at how this added responsibility affects the care that patients receive and what the implications are for health care law and medical ethics.

Medical Ethics Advisor – December 1, 2005

December 1, 2005