Browse Medical Ethics Articles by Topic

Assent Is Not Consent: Children in Clinical Trials Are Not Little Adults

The classic admonition in pediatric medicine is “children are not little adults,” implying in part that you cannot just scale down adult care and treatment. Does this phrase resonate as well in human research trials involving children, particularly around issues of consent for the former and assent for the latter?

ICMJE Underlines Ethics on Importance of Data Sharing

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors published an editorial in June 2017, saying there is an ethical obligation to share interventional clinical trial data. Beginning July 1, 2018, manuscripts with clinical trial results that are submitted to the committee's journals must contain a data-sharing statement.

Decisional Conflict Common for Surrogates of ICU Patients

A recent study looked at whether the decision-making process plays a role in the psychological morbidity associated with being a surrogate in the ICU.

Paper Calls for More Transparency of Industry-sponsored Clinical Trials

A recent paper offers consensus recommendations and examples of best practices from the published clinical trial literature to help authors and trial sponsors communicate drug adverse events in a more informative and clinically meaningful manner.

Are Patients Prepared for Reality of Life With Implantable Devices?

Patients may view cardiac implantable electronic devices as a lifesaver — without fully understanding quality of life issues.

Study Identifies Surprising Priorities of Chronically Critically Ill Patients

For chronically critically ill patients and their surrogates, life prolongation fell below cognitive impact and physical function goals for the majority of people surveyed. This was true for both patients and families.

Study: COPD Symptom Burden Often Goes Unrecognized

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease often experience symptom burden and social isolation that is underappreciated by clinicians, are much more likely than lung cancer patients to die in hospital than at home, and they often lack palliative care, found a recent study.

‘We Want Everything Possible Done for Mom’

Joanne Lynn, MD, a Washington, DC-based geriatrician and director of the Center for Elder Care and Advanced Illness at Altarum Institute, has dedicated her career to finding ways to improve health and healthcare at a sustainable cost. Lynn tells Medical Ethics Advisor how hospitals can achieve ethical end-of-life care.

New Resuscitation Policy: It’s Not Offered Unless Clinically Indicated

Ethicists at University of Virginia helped develop a new resuscitation policy stating that patients or surrogates can accept or refuse offered treatment, and that the healthcare team should not offer treatments unless clinically indicated.

Patients Who Refuse Discharge Are ‘Disaster in the Making’

Patients refusing to leave the hospital for weeks, or even months — despite being medically cleared for discharge — are a growing problem, according to ethicists.