Ethical Issues in Medicine

Ethical Considerations in Prescribing Unproven Therapies for COVID-19

Publish Date September 1, 2020

Meeting public demand for an urgently needed effective medication quickly and safely during a pandemic involves difficult tradeoffs.

Helping Patients Quit Smoking: A Road Map for Clinicians

Publish Date July 3, 2020

Successful smoking cessation involves a 2-pronged approach, since there are 2 components to smoking – physiological and behavioral, according to Nervana Elkhadragy, PharmD, MS, TTS, of Purdue University, College of Pharmacy, Indianapolis.

Explaining Treatment Risks to Patients

Publish Date July 2, 2020

Physicians should frame treatment options by their “harms and benefits,” not by their “risks and benefits.”

Apologies, Properly Made, Go Far in Maintaining Doctor-Patient Relationships

Publish Date May 1, 2020

From an ethical perspective, disclosing adverse events to patients is predicated on the idea that physicians have obligations to tell the truth, but physicians may worry that apologizing will incur greater responsibility for liability.

Clinician/Researcher Bias May Contribute to Low Enrollment of Minorities in Cancer Clinical Trials

Publish Date April 10, 2020

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of clinical trial “stakeholders” regarding enrollment of minorities in cancer clinical trials.

Challenges, Facilitators of Spiritual Care for Family Members of Patients in the ICU

Publish Date April 10, 2020

Herein, spiritual care was defined as “that which recognizes and responds to the needs of the human spirit, including the need for meaning, purpose, and connection.”

Managing Implicit Bias May Address Healthcare Disparities

Publish Date March 2, 2020

Unconscious, unacknowledged thoughts and feelings may interfere with fair and objective evaluations of different groups of people.

Managing Conflict of Interest

Publish Date January 1, 2020

Managing conflict of interest enables the medical profession to avoid bias in the delivery of patient care while allowing for reasonable financial relationships with industry.

Disclosing Conflicts of Interest Protects Integrity, Ensures Patient Trust

Publish Date October 30, 2019

Physicians must be open about secondary interests such as financial gain that have the potential to bias their clinical judgment.

Should Aging Physicians Be Required to Undergo Cognitive Testing? 3 Experts Weigh In

Publish Date October 21, 2019

The issue of aging physicians poses serious challenges to the medical profession, with concerns that judgment or skills might decline with age.