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Some ethicists are unaware of how code status options are named and defined at their institutions. Researchers found that at some hospitals, code status options in the electronic medical record did not even match what was in the hospital policy. Ethics should be one of the experts in this area.
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Researchers hope leaders can use these data to decide what resources to devote to ethics consultation.
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Numerous real-life examples of artificial intelligence in healthcare already pose difficult ethical questions: Informed consent, patient privacy, transparency, allocation, and safety are a few. The authors of a recent paper argued artificial intelligence-related ethics training should begin in medical school.
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Despite ongoing efforts to address disparities in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia care, much work remains. The authors of a recent report identified some of the barriers diverse populations are facing in accessing and receiving dementia care.
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The first new Alzheimer’s drug to be approved in almost 20 years has sparked a major ethical controversy, leading to protest resignations, criticism, qualifying statements, and even calls for investigations.
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Usually, there is plenty of time for patients or families to decide if they want to be involved in a clinical trial, and there is adequate time for a thorough informed consent process. It’s a bit different in the ICU.
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Ethical questions on organ transplantation have focused mainly on resource allocation — access to transplantation and prioritization of donor organs. A recent analysis revealed few consults were called for questions about appropriate resource allocation.
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Ethics consults called by surgical specialties differ somewhat from consults called by other hospital specialties.
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Chaplains often serve on ethics committees, as ethics consultants, and as institutional review board members. Yet there are no standardized ethics curricula in Clinical Pastoral Education programs.
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Supporting families faced with making critical decisions for incapacitated loved ones is a core ethical duty for ICU clinicians. Yet little is known about family characteristics that predict their dissatisfaction with support during decision-making.
