Medical Ethics Advisor – September 1, 2003
September 1, 2003
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Have stethoscope, will testify; pitfalls of the ‘expert’ witness
In July 2002, the North Carolina Medical Board made history by becoming the first state board to revoke the license of a physician for giving what it considered to be false and misleading testimony in a medical malpractice case. -
Should MDs ration what they say to patients?
The department of maternal and fetal medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in Nashville, TN, sees many patients referred in from rural parts of the state to receive specialized care not available in their own communities. -
Tips on giving bad news to patients
Physicians often have to give bad and distressing news to patients. The screening tests have found cancer. An ultrasound shows that a pregnancy is not progressing normally. A planned treatment regimen is not having the desired result. -
Hospitals mull mandatory HIV testing for HCWs
As the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services begins a new initiative to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS, health care facilities once again are talking about a long-controversial issue whether health care workers should be required to undergo screening for infection with HIV, or hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV, HCV).