Medical Ethics Advisor – August 1, 2006
August 1, 2006
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AMA rejects therapeutic privilege, advises giving patients full story
Perhaps for as long as there have been physicians, there has been the notion that sometimes what a patient knows could hurt him. "Therapeutic privilege," the decision by a physician to withhold information from a patient for his or her own good, is a concept of the past, the American Medical Association (AMA) has determined. -
Study says: Prayer doesn't benefit heart patients
Research studies on the effects of prayer on healing have yielded contrasting findings, but can and should medicine try to quantify and qualify religious faith as a healing modality? -
Concierge care: Does it benefit everyone or a few?
In 2000, literally a handful of physicians were practicing what has become known as concierge medicine they had slashed their patient load to a fraction of the number of patients seen in a traditional practice, and were charging their remaining 300 to 400 patients a retainer fee that gave them access to the doctors' services around-the-clock and for as much time as they needed. -
Critics charge physician peer review misused
Physician peer review has been a galvanizing topic since the mid-1980s, when federal law imposed protections for those lodging charges against physicians; protections that, depending on your opinion, either protect the peer review process or allow it to serve as a weapon for hospitals and dishonest physicians to rid themselves of whistleblowers and competitors. -
AMA creates guidelines for advertising new drugs
It's an ambush of sorts a patient, armed with information on the latest prescription drug gleaned from television or print advertising, insists that his or her doctor prescribe the drug, even if the physician is unfamiliar with the drug or unsure of its safety and efficacy. -
Placebo therapy without patient consent unethical
Employing placebo therapy without patients' knowledge or cooperation is unethical, the American Medical Association's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs states in a new report.