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New guidance on palliative care delivery in oncology practices
A new guidance statement to define high-quality primary palliative care delivery in medical oncology has been developed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
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Many academics on industry boards: Conflicts of interest are ethical concern
Academics from medical schools and research institutions hold nearly 10% of positions on boards of directors at publicly traded healthcare companies, according to a recent study.
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“Instant access” culture driving trend toward at-home testing
Ethical issues involving at-home self-testing include patient autonomy, the fact that knowledgeable providers aren’t interpreting findings, and the possibility of false or misleading results.
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Did ethics consults occur too late? Reluctant clinicians are one reason
Ethics consults often are called only after the patient lacks decision-making capacity and death is inevitable despite aggressive treatment.
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Greater palliative care knowledge in nursing homes linked to less aggressive end-of-life care
The more nursing directors knew about palliative care, the less likely their patients experienced feeding tube insertion, injections, restraints, suctioning, and emergency department visits, according to a recent study.
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Physicians work when ill, even with confirmed flu
Driven by a traditional work culture that underscores their responsibility to patients and commitment to coworkers, physicians will show up for work symptomatic and sick, even if they have laboratory-confirmed influenza, researchers reported recently in San Diego at the 2015 IDWeek conference.1
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More than half of IPs given no additional resources
More than a year out from the emergence of Ebola, many infection preventionists report they received no additional resources to deal with the crisis, still lack adequate supplies of personal protective equipment, and remain uncertain about how frequently healthcare workers need to be trained to ensure they are donning and doffing personal protective equipmentcorrectly.
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Lack of PPE training leads to frequent contamination
A major factor in contamination problems when removing personal protective equipment appears to be the fundamental issue of PPE training — or lack thereof.
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CDC, FDA warn of surgical infections caused by heater-cooler units
An increase in nontuberculous mycobacteria infections in post-surgical patients has been linked to contaminated water emitted from heater-cooler devices used in surgery. Infection preventionists and their clinical colleagues should immediately review cleaning and disinfection procedures for the devices and ensure only sterile water is used in them, public health agencies advise. -
How Much Is Too Much?
While healthcare workers often contaminate themselves doffing personal protective equipment, there’s interest in scaling back contact precautions.