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Online social networking sites have fans ranging from the very young to the very old. Some physicians, including psychiatrists, are not immune to a curious peek into the lives of their patients or at least what they can find online but is that a line that should be crossed in the physician-patient relationship?
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The Nuffield Council on Bioethics in London has set up what that organization terms a working party to study the issue of whether the UK can ethically increase organ or tissue donation by offering incentives.
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A study of the roles and responsibilities of patients and their proxies has implications today for hospital ethics committees and associated consult services, particularly with regard to the weight given to the voice of the proxy, according to "Contracts, Covenants and Advance Care Planning: An Empirical Study of the Moral Obligations of Patient and Proxy."
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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on April 13 released the 2009 National Healthcare Quality Report and the National Healthcare Disparities Report, which are used by a variety of health care stakeholders to evaluate quality and access to care.
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In early April, Compassion & Choices President Barbara Coombs Lee said at a press conference to announce that "aid in dying" more often referred to as assisted suicide is being implemented in Montana following a Montana Supreme Court decision to allow it in late December.
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One health care lawyer suggests that there will be a phased implementation of the health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was passed in March.
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At the University of California, Davis, the legal counsel and the ethics consultation services are "completely separated," according to Alexander A. Kon, MD, CM, FAAP, FCCM, who, among other appointments, serves as the director, clinical bioethics consultation service and chair, bioethics consultation committee.
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In the days after a child has been diagnosed with leukemia, parents often must wrestle with decisions about participation in clinical trials. It's a busy and stressful period, as family members are still dealing with the trauma of the diagnosis.
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Although most patient care scenarios can be worked out through careful communication with all those involved, there are certain situations where even greater diplomacy may be required on the part of ethics consultants.
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While there are certain scenarios regarding patient care when what is written in the law may seem to counter what is ethically appropriate, in general, the law and ethics complement each other in the health care arena, according to those interviewed by Medical Ethics Advisor.
