Browse Medical Ethics Advisor Articles by Topic

Family Important Influencer on Care Preferences

An analysis of 57 articles indicates that care preferences are influenced by a complex interaction of family, individual, and illness factors.

Spiritual Self-care Linked to Higher Surrogate Confidence

There is increasing focus on finding ways to help patients and their families prepare for the surrogate role much earlier so that the end of life is not as traumatic for all concerned.

Nurse-facilitated Discussion Decreases Surrogate Stress

Surrogates reported less stress and greater satisfaction after a nurse-directed discussion on end-of-life preferences, a recent study found.

Ethics-Administrator Relations Go From Adversarial to Collegial

Good relations between ethics and hospital administration require a solid understanding of their distinct roles.

‘Tremendous Interest’ in Dementia-specific Advance Directives

Court challenges and resistance are expected for recently developed dementia-specific advance directives despite strong demand voiced by patients, family, and providers.

Advance Care Planning Discussions ‘Buried’ in EHRs: Problem Is Pervasive

Half of patients with a completed advance care planning legal form had no explanatory discussion documented, found a recent study.

Surge in Ethics Consults Outside ICU Setting

Ethicists at Springfield, IL-based Memorial Medical Center have been seeing increased volume of consults for some time. Recently, they have noticed many are occurring outside of the ICU setting.

Patients With Language Barriers Less Likely to Limit Life Support and Change Code to DNR

Decisions regarding life support, code status, and advance directives are different for patients with limited English proficiency in the ICU compared with patients whose primary language was English, found a recent study.

Ethics Guidance on Reproductive Issues in Cancer Patients

Multiple ethical issues related to reproduction in the context of cancer are addressed in an updated position statement from The American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Ethics Committee.

Orientation for Ethics Consultants? Some Have None at All

Institutions should re-evaluate their orientation practices for ethics committee members that perform ethics consultations, suggests recent research.