Medical Ethics Advisor – December 1, 2011
December 1, 2011
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'Buy one get one free' healthcare Is it unethical or just undignified?
Consumer web sites such as LivingSocial, Groupon, Loclly, and Ebates are popping up in millions of e-mail inboxes across the United States offering everything from sushi dinners and massages to car washes and now, healthcare. -
BOGO: Healthcare by smartphone
The smartphone has helped drive the astronomical growth of the group coupon market, since notifications of daily coupons, also known as "daily deal alerts," are sent directly to the phone and the codes can be redeemed directly off of the device. -
Palliative care: advancing or deficient?
In an updated report1 that appears in a recent issue of Journal of Palliative Medicine, researchers examined the ability to accessibility of palliative care in U.S. hospitals. -
Data collection comes to palliative care
Palliative care was only recognized as a specialty five years ago by the American College of Graduate Medical Education. Because of its newness, those working in the specialty are still learning how to effectively collect data and make use of the information once they have collected it. -
Palliative care hardwired into hospital system
Palliative care isn't just for hospice patients; it also is used to manage the symptoms of those with chronic or advanced illnesses. One hospital system in Michigan has brought palliative care into all aspects of hospital care for all patients. -
Patients with ICDs learn of EOL options
An implanted heart rhythm device may generate repeated painful shocks during a patient's final hours, at a time when the natural process of dying often affects the heart's rhythm. Yet, clinicians rarely discuss options for limiting these distressing events at the end of life (EOL), according to a new review of literature1, appearing in American Journal of Nursing. -
Ethical complexities of conjoined twins
The case of a pair of "craniopagus" twins (conjoined at the head) illustrates the complex bioethical issues involved in deciding whether to attempt separation surgery, according to an article1 in a recent issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). -
Undocumented patients get a safety net
The Hastings Center is exploring the ethical challenges that clinicians and organizations face when providing medical care to undocumented immigrants in the United States. The project is supported by a grant from the Overbrook Foundation Domestic Human Rights Program. -
Emotional toll of DTC genetic testing
Among the latest healthcare trends seeking to advance "individualized medicine" are private companies marketing genetic testing directly to patients. -
Improvement checklists help quality processes
When review boards and research organizations' quality improvement (QI) offices work together, the net effect is a more thorough and efficient human subjects research process, experts say.