Medical Ethics Advisor – August 1, 2017
August 1, 2017
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Study: Biggest Barrier to Advance Care Planning Is Time
Lack of time and skill are two barriers to advance care planning cited by physicians, according to recent research. There also is a lack of clarity as to who is responsible for these difficult discussions.
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Conversations on Ethics of Difficult Cases Often Help Clinical Team
Clinicians found debriefing sessions after difficult cases helpful because they permitted the discussion of values, found a recent study.
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Advance Care Planning for Patients With Hematologic Malignancies
Misconceptions among both patients and clinicians about the role of palliative care and its relationship to “aggressive treatment” of hematologic malignancies contribute to high rates of aggressive interventions at the end of life, and a high proportion of in-hospital deaths.
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Study: Trial Results for New Neurological Drugs Often Go Unpublished
Results of clinical trials for “stalled” neurological drugs — those which had at least one completed Phase III trial but failed to receive FDA approval — are heavily underreported, found a new study.
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‘Robust’ Error Disclosure Systems Needed for Pediatric Patients
Ethical obligations to disclose medical errors in the pediatric setting are very similar to those involving competent adults. Experts can provide guidance on how to frame information about a medical error in ways appropriate to the developmental, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual needs of each child.
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Early Integrated Palliative Care Improved Cancer Patients’ Quality of Life
Early integrated palliative care improved quality of life for patients with newly diagnosed incurable cancers, found a recent study.
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‘Predatory’ Online Journals Charge Publication Fees — Minus Peer Review
Is your email box full of dubious-sounding offers to publish articles with very quick turnaround time — but only for a fee? Increasing numbers of “predatory” online medical journals solicit manuscripts and charge publication fees without providing peer review.
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Does Cancer Patient Want Fertility Preserved? Ethical Issues Arise
Oncofertility, a fairly new but growing field, addresses the special reproductive needs of cancer patients — but guidelines for how to deal with ethical dilemmas have not yet been established.