Browse Medical Ethics Articles by Topic

No Evidence of Bias on Pediatric Ethics Rounds

Researchers compared sociodemographic factors between patients admitted to an academic children’s hospital during ethics rounds in the PICU, PCTU, and NICU in 2017 and 2018 who were identified as having ethics issues and all other patients admitted to those same units during the same period. The researchers expected racial and/or socioeconomic differences between the groups, with socially vulnerable patients disproportionately identified as having ethical issues on rounds. But they did not find this to be the case.

Some Code Status Discussions Are Rushed, Incomplete, or Misleading

Learning how to engage in code status conversations is as important as learning how to perform medical procedures. Clinicians would not ask patients in completely neutral terms whether they want a procedure that has no chance of working or would inflict serious harm. Any conversation around resuscitation status should take into account patients' goals and values, what is important to them in life, and the minimum acceptable quality of life.

Challenges with Surrogate Informed Consent

The central ethical question is whether a surrogate’s judgment for consenting or refusing a medical intervention on behalf of a patient is consistent and congruent with this patient’s preferences, interests, and values.

Is It a Problem to Pay Research Participants?

Paying people to participate in clinical research can be seen as ethically problematic. Yet community members expressed the opposite view, according to the results of a recent study.

Changing Practice Models in Healthcare Raise Some Ethical Concerns

With all the ongoing changes in healthcare, such as physician contract clauses, new regulatory requirements, private equity ownership, and physician leadership, hospitals worry about the implications on revenue, patient satisfaction, and compliance. There also are important ethical considerations. The authors of a new policy paper from the American College of Physicians examined these.

Policies Support Clinicians if Asked to Provide Inappropriate Care

When a family demands possibly inappropriate life-sustaining interventions, clinicians often turn to hospital policies for guidance. The authors of a recent study examined the effectiveness of Yale New Haven Hospital’s Conscientious Practice Policy. A theme emerged, focused on the inconsistent use of the policy. Whether it was used depended mostly on how resistant the family was to limiting interventions.

United Kingdom Begins First COVID-19 Human Challenge Study

Lawmakers, academics, and the research community have hotly debated the ethics of a human challenge study since the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the United Kingdom has started dosing patients in its human challenge study, some bioethicists say this trial can show vaccine efficacy in ways the larger vaccine trials cannot.

Study of COVID-19 Vaccine in Pregnant People ‘Too Late’

On Feb. 18, Pfizer and BioNTech announced they would dose about 4,000 healthy pregnant women with the COVID-19 vaccine to evaluate its safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity. Although pregnant people were excluded initially from the COVD-19 trials, research has shown they are at higher risk for more severe disease.

Biden Administration Abandons ‘Public Charge’ Rule

Under Trump era proposal, immigrants who received public benefits, including Medicaid, above a certain level would be considered a “public charge.”

Unanticipated Ethical Issues Arise When Data Are Collected and Analyzed

Discussions about ethical concerns led to the development of a checklist to raise awareness of issues that arise in daily work.