Asymptomatic with Inverted T Waves

The ECG in the figure is from a healthy young adult without symptoms. Clinicians recorded this tracing as part of the patient’s employment physical exam. Is the T wave inversion likely to be a normal variant?

Physicians’ Well-Being Top Ethics Issue

Ethicists should encourage their organizations to survey physicians to identify which factors are adversely affecting well-being. Meaningful change cannot occur without actively engaging physicians in determining what changes they believe will significantly improve their health and well-being.

Efforts Underway to Diversify Clinical Ethics Field

Success depends on available ethics resources and overall organizational diversity. Broader changes to the ethics field resulting in more diversity would require regulatory, legal, or accreditation oversight. Absent that, it is going to be one institution at a time, or one or several ethicists at a time, trying to create the right kind of mix of diversity and representation.

Should Ethicists Hide Consult Notes from Patients?

Ethics consults often are accompanied by conflict, intense emotions, sensitive or controversial topics, and disagreements about values. Ethics notes tend to incorporate more narrative and explicit analysis than other clinical notes. For the sake of transparency, instead of shielding notes, consider excluding details that are likely to cause harm.

Making More Protected Time for Clinical Ethics Work

To make a good case for investing in protected time, ethicists can engage with department heads to identify the unmet needs of healthcare providers. Testimonials from providers who have benefitted from ethics consultation demonstrate direct benefit to patient care.

Cutting Total Calorie Intake Is More Effective for Weight Loss

Researchers found monitoring total caloric intake may be more effective for losing weight than intermittent fasting.

Ethical Problems with Rural Cancer Patients’ Access to Care

Patients and clinicians should discuss any available data regarding differences in care delivered at potential treatment sites, potential accompanying outcomes differences, and the costs and benefits of pursuing treatment at each site. Rural patient navigators should be involved in this discussion, considering the complexity of care coordination for patients with cancer.

Trauma Patients at Risk for Developing Opioid Use Disorder

Better identification and referral of patients with opioid use disorder could enhance the quality and continuity of care these patients receive, while also reducing reliance on EDs and the crowding that ensues.

Ethical Responses if Family Abandons Loved One at Hospital

By leveraging their mediation skills, ethicists can build trust between weary family caregivers and clinicians who are unsure about how to handle a delicate situation. This can help everyone identify patient needs and find possible solutions.

Shortage of Nursing Home Beds Prompts Creative Solutions

The nursing home crises of too few beds and not enough staff is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Case managers, discharge planners, and transition of care leaders need to find alternative solutions that will keep patients safe and avoid unnecessary hospitalizations.

Articles Tagged With: