Medical Ethics Advisor – September 1, 2005
September 1, 2005
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Newborn screenings: Search for standards creates more questions
Newborns in every state are screened for disorders that, if undetected, could lead to disability or death; but while some states test for nine or more conditions, others test for only one or two. Now, efforts are being made to bring uniformity to testing nationwide and to determine what tests are the most crucial. -
Breast cancer genetic markers: Testing not for all
Being proactive about health has gained lots of attention from consumers as well as health care providers, and testing for certain risk factors is part of that proactive approach. -
Return of silicone implants: Safety still center of debate
A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committees recommendation that silicone gel breast implants be returned to the United States market after an essential ban of 13 years is being met with approval from some in the medical community and dismay by others. -
Direct-to-consumer ads change MD/patient dynamic
You think the patient before you suffering from minor acid reflux will respond just fine to over-the-counter antacids, and you tell her so. But before you ever saw her, she had already decided that that purple pill advertised on television is what she needs, and theres no changing her mind. -
Samples effect residents’ drug prescribing habits
An analysis of the prescribing practices of 29 internal medicine residents in an inner-city Minneapolis clinic indicates that residents with access to sample pharmaceuticals were more likely to prescribe heavily advertised drugs and less likely to prescribe over-the-counter (OTC) drugs than their peers. -
AMA: More pilot studies to boost organ donation
The American Medical Association (AMA) is urging its members to support pilot studies of whether presumed consent and mandated choice policies could increase organ donations, while the nations organ matching system continues to be skeptical of the success of such programs in the United States. -
News Briefs
Massachusetts General Hospital and Partners HealthCare System have created a center in Boston that will seek to address the deep division existing in medical status between racial and ethnic groups.