-
Patients will soon be able to access information about their physicians financial relationships, as a result of The Physician Payment Sunshine Act. It is unclear how this information will affect the patient-physician relationship.
-
While most Dutch respondents to a 2011 survey indicated that they initiated open discussions about sedation proactively, American respondents reported fewer such discussions, with most occurring late in the dying process.
-
Disclosure after medical errors is still not done consistently, partly due to clinicians continued concerns regarding liability exposure.
-
There is no evidence that a policy empowering physicians not to offer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is disproportionately applied to vulnerable populations, according to a recent study.
-
Ethical concerns involving prevention and treatment of Ebola mirror those surrounding other public health threats in developing countries.
-
Poor communication between providers and the patient or family is the underlying reason for many ethics consults involving conflicts over end-of-life care.
-
Physicians or other healthcare professionals occasionally try to impede ethical discussions for a variety of reasons.
-
In light of multiple recent studies linking feeding tubes in patients with advanced dementia with numerous treatment burdens and complications, the American Geriatrics Society released an updated position statement in July 2014 on this practice.
-
Bundled payments aim to contain healthcare costs, but some say this new payment model has the potential to incentivize undertreatment.
-
"Throughout our health care system, VA patients and staff face difficult and potentially life-altering decisions every day whether it be in clinics, in cubicles, or in council meetings. In the day-to-day business of health care, uncertainty or conflicts about values that is, ethical concerns inevitably arise." IntegratedEthics: Improving Ethics Quality in Health Care (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs monograph)
