Medical Ethics Advisor – December 1, 2017
December 1, 2017
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Lawsuits Allege Patients’ End-of-Life Wishes Ignored
Several recent lawsuits alleged that patients were harmed by unwanted care because their end-of-life wishes were disregarded by the clinical team, with one case resulting in a $1 million settlement against the hospital.
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Disclosure of Errors Not Documented — Even if Patient Seriously Harmed
Very few disclosures of medical errors or apologies to the patient or relatives were documented in medical records, found a recent analysis of malpractice claims.
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‘Feel-Good Approach’ Is Not Enough: Assess Quality of Ethics Consults
Quality of clinical care routinely is assessed using myriad established approaches, with patient safety issues addressed with such proven methods as root cause analyses. On the other hand, quality of ethics consultations often is not addressed at all.
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‘Decision-makers of Last Resort’ Pose Unique Ethical Challenges
Surrogates sometimes vehemently disagree, despite all attempts to resolve the conflict. In other cases, there’s simply no one to speak on the patient’s behalf. Either way, the clinical team is forced to turn to the courts or government if an important medical decision must be made.
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‘Little Quality Evidence’ for Marketing MRT as Fertility Treatment
The doctor who delivered the first “three-parent” baby is seeking to commercialize mitochondrial replacement therapy by marketing a treatment to older women who want to produce viable embryos — at a cost of $80,000 to $120,000.
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Pain Research Can Harm Participants
Researchers must pay greater attention to the rights of study participants in pain research, concludes a recent paper by the Ethics Committee of the Pain-Omics Group.