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Unfounded and ineffective excesses in the use of involuntary commitment proceedings could result from the publics horror over recent mass shootings, according to John Z. Sadler, MD, Daniel W. Foster, MD, professor of medical ethics and professor of psychiatry and clinical sciences at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern in Dallas, TX, pointing to the sociological concept of the outrage dynamic, which emerges in the face of rare but horrific tragedies.
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The need to protect others from a potentially harmful patient is a pressing ethical issue not just for health care providers, but for society to contemplate at this juncture, according to Gary E. Jones, PhD, JD, professor in the Philosophy Department at University of San Diego (CA).
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There is low consensus among state medical boards as to whether derogatory speech toward patients, showing alcohol use without intoxication, and providing clinical narratives without violation of confidentiality constitute a violation of online professionalism, according to a recent study.
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Virtually any predictive test that can be done on an adult can be done on a minor, from tests for Huntingtons disease to breast and ovarian cancer to schizophrenia, but the question is not whether we can, but whether we should, says John Lantos, MD, director of the Childrens Mercy Bioethics Center in Kansas City, MO.
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A rapid response model for ethics consultations in the emergency department (ED) was developed at The Ottawa Hospital in Ontario, Canada, using terminology that ED clinicians familiar with rapid response teams can relate to.
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A novel strain of norovirus is posing new challenges for hospitals and underscores the importance of vigilant hand hygiene and environmental cleaning.
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There is predictability in unpredictable violence. Clear warning signs emerge as a patient progresses from unhappy to agitated to aggressive, and health care workers can learn to defuse the situation before an incident turns violent.
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The most dangerous patient handling task is also the most frequent and the most mundane. Nurses and nursing aides reposition patients throughout their shift, and that repositioning often leads to back and shoulder injuries. By focusing on strategies to reduce the risk, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis demonstrated that those injuries can be reduced dramatically.
