'Clinical ethics' Category
Research and Ethics on the Mission Field (25)
Can medical missionaries engage in clinical research? Are there potential conflicts of interest between the goal of reaching nationals for Christ and engaging in medical research studies? We talk with Dr. Don Thompson, Director of the Global Health Outreach, the medical missions arm of the Christian Medical and Dental Association. For more information: Global Health [...]
Health Care Reform: What Are the Ethical Stakes? (20)
Our nation has been engaged in a contentious debate over legislation to reform the health care system. Dr. John Vitaliti returns as my guest to discuss the ethical issues at the root of our current health care crisis. A subsequent podcast will look at the pros and cons of various legislative efforts. Theme Music: Gli [...]
A Health Care Horror Story
Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo is a 35 year-old married mother who works as a nurse at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. She has worked in the operating room since 2004. When she first applied for her position at Mount Sinai, her supervisor asked if she would be willing to participate in abortions. Ms. Cenzon-DeCarlo, a [...]
Should Doctors Apologize? (19)
When medical errors happen, should doctors apologize to their patients? Doesn’t that idea simply guarantee a costly lawsuit? What are the ethical implications of all this? In this podcast, we discuss the ethics of apologies. My guest is Dr. John Vitaliti, a former practicing anesthesiologist, who studies the issues surrounding malpractice and tort reform. Source: [...]
Shifting Standards in International Research Ethics
The Declaration of Helsinki has long been regarded as the leading international standard on human research ethics. Drafted in 1964, the Declaration upholds basic patient rights and governs the business practices of clinical researchers. In spite of the Declaration’s widely accepted ethical authority, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration terminated its reliance on the Declaration [...]
Fueling the Fire: New Prenatal DNA Tests Spark Further Debate
A new gene test now claims to have the ability to detect a wider range of genetic disorders in fetuses. The test, called comparative genomic hybridization, uses “gene chips†to screen for 150 genetic abnormalities. Proponents of the test argue that this technology gives parents and doctors advance notice of the baby’s condition, allowing them [...]
A Duty to Die?
Alzheimer’s patients are a drain on Britain’s National Health Service, and should therefore consider ending their lives. So claims the always controversial Baroness Mary Warnock in a recently published statement. Lady Warnock has been called “Britain’s leading moral philosopher,†and is especially well known for directing the Warnock Committee that set government policy concerning reproductive [...]
Is it Ethical to Pay for Organs?
Technological developments in medicine are making organ transplants fairly routine. When I first entered medical school in the 1970s, a kidney transplant was a major intervention. There were significant side effects to the drugs used to prevent rejection, and the mortality and morbidity rates were high. Today, however, kidney transplants are routine, as are transplants [...]
Medical Tourism – It’s No Vacation (14)
Our July podcast is all about medical tourism. This is a growing trend in the United States, where some patients are going to other countries for their medical care. The idea is perhaps understandable in a medical system overburdened with waiting lists, third-party payer denials, and high costs. But there are serious risks along with [...]
New Threats to Rights of Conscience
In this age of radical patient autonomy and patient rights, the rights of doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals can sometimes be shortchanged. This may happen when individual choice trumps the right of a health care worker to refuse to perform a morally-controversial procedure. The latest assault on conscience comes from the Ethics Committee [...]
