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Recent trends demonstrate a widening use of drugs that can facilitate cognitive capability, both in patient and general-use populations, says James Giordano, PhD, chief of the Neuroethics Studies Program at Edmund D. Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC.
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The 2013 Guidelines for Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment and Care Near the End of Life were written with the nation's changing health care landscape and "the real world of clinical practice" in mind, says Nancy Berlinger, PhD, a research scholar at The Hastings Center in Garrison, NY. Berlinger is lead author of the new edition of the Guidelines and the director of the research project supporting the new edition.
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Angelina Jolie's widely publicized bilateral mastectomy brought a great deal of public attention to the issue of what to do in response to genetic testing results, but also raised some important ethical concerns, according to bioethicists interviewed by Medical Ethics Advisor.
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Teaching medical students about mind-body approaches could help boost their compassion, according to a study from Boston (MA) University School of Medicine.
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The 2013 Hastings Center Guidelines for Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment and Care Near the End of Life acknowledge cost as an ethical concern in health care.
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Ethical issues involving the medical use of marijuana include whether it is possible for the benefits to exceed its known risks, and that many physicians making recommendations operate on the margins of the medical community.
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Clinical ethicists can help surrogate decision makers and clinicians to resolve conflicts over a patient's end-of-life wishes by facilitating communication between involved parties and exploring difficult questions.
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Learning health care systems" necessitate the collection of large amounts of data electronically during every health care encounter.
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Clinicians may face pressure from family members to keep going when there is concern that the patient might not have wanted aggressive end-of-life interventions, or the health care team considers palliation in the patients best interests.
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Policies expanding physician performance incentives highlight the importance of considering ethical implications when constructing systems.
