Browse Medical Ethics Advisor Articles by Topic

Surprising data on FDA committee members’ financial ties

Food & Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee meetings have, on average, 13% of members with financial conflicts of interest, according to a recent study. Researchers analyzed financial conflicts of 1,400 advisory committee members over a 15-year period.1

Innovative program effectively educates nurses on clinical ethics

A Clinical Ethics Residency for Nurses has been developed at two large northeastern academic medical centers. One goal is to teach nurses how to be effective advocates for patients whose circumstances, problems, and treatments are ethically complex.

Ensure patients’ wishes are respected through surrogate decisionmakers

A recent ethics consult at The Ottawa Hospital in Ontario, Canada involved a victim of domestic violence. “The challenge was that the husband, who had severely beaten the patient, was the patient’s substitute decisionmaker,” recalls Thomas Foreman, DHCE, MA, MPIA, director of the Department of Clinical and Organizational Ethics.

IOM: End-of-Life Care is Inadequate in the US

The American healthcare system is poorly equipped to care for patients at the end of life, according an Institute of Medicine report.

Palliative care hardwired into hospital system

Palliative care isn't just for hospice patients; it also is used to manage the symptoms of those with chronic or advanced illnesses. One hospital system in Michigan has brought palliative care into all aspects of hospital care for all patients.

Data collection comes to palliative care

Palliative care was only recognized as a specialty five years ago by the American College of Graduate Medical Education. Because of its newness, those working in the specialty are still learning how to effectively collect data and make use of the information once they have collected it.

Patients with ICDs learn of EOL options

An implanted heart rhythm device may generate repeated painful shocks during a patient's final hours, at a time when the natural process of dying often affects the heart's rhythm. Yet, clinicians rarely discuss options for limiting these distressing events at the end of life (EOL), according to a new review of literature1, appearing in American Journal of Nursing.

Ethical complexities of conjoined twins

The case of a pair of "craniopagus" twins (conjoined at the head) illustrates the complex bioethical issues involved in deciding whether to attempt separation surgery, according to an article1 in a recent issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

Undocumented patients get a safety net

The Hastings Center is exploring the ethical challenges that clinicians and organizations face when providing medical care to undocumented immigrants in the United States. The project is supported by a grant from the Overbrook Foundation Domestic Human Rights Program.

Emotional toll of DTC genetic testing

Among the latest healthcare trends seeking to advance "individualized medicine" are private companies marketing genetic testing directly to patients.