Medical Ethics Advisor – June 1, 2006
June 1, 2006
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Pandemic influenza: The rules aren't the same as for typical flu season
The Bush administration's projections of the potential impact of an avian flu pandemic expose the enormity of the ethical issues that come with any plan for rationing and distributing vaccine. -
Discussing brain death, organ/tissue donation
Doctors recognize the importance of delivering news of brain death as well as possible thoroughly, taking as much time as necessary, conveying the information of irreversible loss of brain function clearly and at a level family members can absorb. -
Presuming consent to organ donation? Not yet
The United States is not ready to follow some European nations in presuming that deceased patients have consented to organ donation if they did not specifically opt out, according to the national Institute of Medicine (IOM). However, the need for donor organs calls for boosting efforts to increase donations, including using organs from patients whose deaths are determined by cardiac criteria. -
Spirituality and medical treatment go hand in hand
The link between patients' spirituality and their response to medical treatment is gaining more attention, and according to a recent study, more than nine out of 10 doctors surveyed believe it is appropriate to discuss spiritual or religious issues when a patient brings them up. -
Growth in palliative care a response to EOL issues
Surveys of ethics committees have long shown that the greatest share (90%) of ethics committee consults in the United States pertain to end-of-life issues. But in one growing specialty, ethics consults are about almost nothing but end of life. -
Recipients of suspect tissue reporting adverse effects
In a case described by a prosecutor as resembling a horror movie, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received reports of adverse effects in patients who received human tissue grafts that were allegedly harvested from bodies in funeral homes without consent of families and, possibly, without being tested for infectious diseases as required by federal law. -
News Briefs
Off-label use common, not always backed by data; Study says fewer doctors providing charity care; EDs report greater shortage on-call specialist coverage