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NJ Appeals Court Affirms Full Liability for Surgeon Despite Shared Fault
A New Jersey appellate court has affirmed a trial court’s ruling that a surgeon found 60% at fault in a patient’s death must pay the entire $1.6 million verdict. The decision underscores how the state’s Comparative Negligence Act imposes full responsibility on defendants whose share of fault meets or exceeds 60%, even when other medical professionals are partly to blame.
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Data Breaches on the Rise
Data breaches continue to increase in number, and healthcare organizations still are a top target. The attacks are becoming more sophisticated as they focus on healthcare employees’ private devices used away from work.
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Nurse Fraud Crackdown Shows Risk to Hospitals
The latest federal crackdown on fraudulent nursing degrees shows the risk posed to patient safety by employees who were hired without the proper credentials. Healthcare organizations employing them face substantial liability risk.
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Secret Recordings Pose Risk to Clinicians and the Facility
Secret recordings in a healthcare setting can pose a number of liability risks, so healthcare organizations should have clear policies that control various types of recording. The problem of secret recordings has grown exponentially now that nearly everyone has a smart phone and is comfortable recording all aspects of their lives.
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Nursing Elevated to Patient Safety Goal by Joint Commission
The Joint Commission is adding nurse staffing to its national performance goals, which means that, as of Jan. 1, 2026, hospitals seeking accreditation will have to meet specified standards for nurse staffing and management.
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Inadequate, Missing, or Inaccessible Goals of Care Documentation Is Ethical Concern
Goals-of-care documentation remains inconsistent and incomplete, limiting goal-concordant care. Research reveals disparities across patient groups and delayed documentation near death, emphasizing the role of ethicists in promoting early, equitable, artificial intelligence-assisted, and standardized documentation of patient preferences and end-of-life wishes.
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Clinicians Fail to Address Risks of Medical Interventions for Patients with Dementia
Clinicians often overlook dementia-specific risks when recommending interventions, leading to uninformed consent and decisional regret among caregivers. Supported and shared decision-making frameworks can promote autonomy, respect, and ethical care tailored to patients’ cognitive capacity and evolving goals.
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Oncologists Face Serious Ethical Dilemmas Caused by Persistent Drug Shortages
Persistent cancer drug shortages force oncologists into ethically fraught choices about rationing and patient prioritization. Shortages disrupt care and research, prompting calls for institutional ethics committees, transparent allocation criteria, and national reforms to ensure equitable access and safer drug supply chains.
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Unique Ethical Dilemmas Occur in Long-Term Care Settings: Staff Need Ethics Resources
Long-term care facilities face ethical challenges involving patient dignity, resource use, and business practices. Research highlights communication issues, caregiver shortages, and limited ethics support, urging institutions to strengthen ethics committees, palliative access, and policy alignment with patient-centered, equitable care standards.
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Drug Side Effects, Technology-Related Risks Often Are Conveyed Inadequately
Informed consent forms frequently omit crucial information about drug side effects and technology-related risks in research. Studies call for clearer disclosure on data governance, digital risks, participant rights, and vendor accountability to uphold transparency, equity, and participant autonomy.