Medical Ethics Advisor
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With Remote Ethics Consults, Nonverbal Communication Is Lost
Normally, ethics consults include plenty of talking, mostly in-person, with patients, families, and clinicians. The need for more remote consults during the COVID-19 pandemic means missing all the communication that happens through facial expressions and body language.
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Ethicists Explain Worst-Case Scenario Policies While Exercising Caution
Clinicians nationwide suddenly have multiple urgent concerns on hypothetical COVID-19 scenarios. They are turning to ethicists for answers. At a Missouri-based system, ethicists are working on policies regarding balancing the public good with patients’ right to leave against medical advice, critical care allocation, and modified visitation.
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Ethical Policies if Critical Care Resources Become Scarce
If and when there are not enough ventilators for all the COVID-19 patients who need them, hospitals can expect lots of public scrutiny. Clear, consistent, and transparent policies can make the ethical rationale behind decisions obvious to everyone.
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All Eyes on Ethics: Pandemic Means ‘Shift from Status Quo’
The diverse backgrounds of clinical ethicists have strengthened COVID-19 responses at many hospitals. Patients and family, clinicians, and administrators are turning to ethics for help.
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Updated Ethical Guidance for Medical Marijuana Requests
More patients are asking for medical marijuana, but some physicians are ethically conflicted or unsure how to respond. A recent paper offers an ethical guidance to physicians in managing these requests.
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Ethical Concerns if Seriously Ill Patients Turn to Alternative Medicine
Many seriously ill patients are taking complementary and alternative medicine treatments. Not all tell their physicians, and not all physicians ask about it. Regardless, such use raises potentially major medical issues.
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Primary Care MDs Field Questions on Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing
After paying hundreds of dollars for direct-to-consumer genetic testing, people need someone they trust to explain what the results actually mean. Many turn to their physicians. The problem for clinicians is they do not know what kind of lab conducted the test or how reliable it is.
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Unique Ethical Concerns for Study Participants in Neuroscience Research
Innovative neuroscience research is vital, but individuals with mental illness pose some unique ethical concerns in terms of their participation. The results of a recent study provided some reassurance on the decision-making processes of individuals.
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Data Tell the Story of Ethics’ Increasing Workload
Many clinical ethics services are seeing a surge in requests for consults as overall budgets decrease. Showing data on the volume of ethics work can make a difference, but numbers alone may not be enough to support additional resources. Experts explain how to create a better, more strategic plan.
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Left Ventricular Assist Devices Pose Informed Consent Challenges
Most patients learn about the the option of left ventricular assist devices when they are facing the possibility of death. Emotion is high, and biases of cognition are prevalent. These issues pose challenges to ethical decision-making and informed consent.