Bioethics News and Research

RSS

Showman surgeon in an ethical tangle

Dr. Charlie Teo had stirred the hornet’s nest of ethical issues by offering to allow a person to spend a day in his company, including the possibility of watching his intricate excision of brain tumors, as a prize in a charity auction held at the Concord Function Centre to raise funds for childhood cancer research. The prize fetched about $1,500.

27 Jan 2011

Realignment with participants' interest important for future of genomic research

Obtaining consent for genetic studies can be an opportunity for researchers to foster respectful engagement with participants, not merely to mitigate legal risk. This shift is proposed in a policy forum appearing tomorrow, Jan. 21, in Science, the journal of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science.

25 Jan 2011

New research shows hospital's design features can improve patient care, reduce health care expenses

14 Jan 2011

Next-generation hospital design can improve health and save money

Extra large private hospital rooms with plenty of natural light and artwork may seem like unaffordable luxuries, but new research shows that these and other architecture and design features can improve patient care and in the long run reduce health care expenses. They are among the elements of the “Fable hospital,” an ideal health care facility as conceived and analyzed by leaders in health care and design. Elements of the Fable hospital are being adopted on the ground today, with the imperative to improve quality and value.

13 Jan 2011

Sleep-deprived physicians not to perform elective surgeries without patient's consent

While regulations have been put in place to restrict the work hours of doctors in training, no such regulations exist for fully trained physicians. An editorial in this week's New England Journal of Medicine argues that sleep-deprived physicians should not be permitted to proceed with an elective surgery without a patient's informed, written consent.

30 Dec 2010

86.9% of adults express support for melanoma genetic testing in minors

The vast majority of parents who tested positive for a genetic mutation that increases the risk of melanoma support genetic testing of their children or grandchildren.

22 Dec 2010

Working more closely with community will make research more meaningful, say Johns Hopkins faculty

A survey conducted by Johns Hopkins faculty found strong support among their peers for working more closely with the minority, inner-city community that surrounds the institution. Overall, 91 percent of faculty responders said closer ties make research more relevant to those it ultimately serves, and 87 percent said it improves the quality of research.

21 Dec 2010

PCSBI issues 18 recommendations in emerging field of synthetic biology

The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues today released its first report-a wide-ranging review of the emerging field of synthetic biology-issuing 18 recommendations including a call for coordinated federal oversight of scientists working in both large institutions and smaller settings.

16 Dec 2010

HUP launches Penn Hand Transplant Program

The Penn Transplant Institute, the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) have collaborated to form the Penn Hand Transplant Program.

15 Dec 2010

Case Western Reserve School of Medicine researchers receive NIH grant for four research endeavors

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine faculty members are reaping the rewards of funding from the National Institutes of Health, in the form of grants and contracts. The funding totals more than $6.4 million for four different research endeavors.

8 Dec 2010

Cognitively-impaired human research subjects need better protection

Practices for protecting human research subjects with Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions that make them incapable of giving informed consent are widely variable and in need of more concrete ethical and legal guidance, according to a study in IRB: Ethics & Human Research.

7 Dec 2010

New pilot program to honor registered organ donors

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the New York Organ Donation Network today announced the launch of a new pilot program to honor the wishes of registered organ donors and help save lives.

2 Dec 2010

Expert panel at RSNA meeting to discuss medical imaging technique

An expert panel convened today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) to discuss medical imaging appropriateness, ionizing radiation from imaging procedures and efforts under way to curb overutilization, decrease radiation dose and educate patients on the risks and benefits of medical imaging.

2 Dec 2010

Report on public health in an era of genomic and personalized medicine

The major challenge for public health in the era of genomics is to generate the base of evidence necessary to demonstrate when use of genomic information in public health can improve health outcomes in a safe, effective and cost-effective manner, participants at an international meeting have concluded.

1 Dec 2010

Embryonic stem cell research has not made good on taxpayer investment

In 2004 Robert Klein, chairman of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), helped pass Proposition 71, establishing the CIRM with a state taxpayer-funded $3 billion budget for ten years. The measure was passed with promises of affordable cures for virtually all diseases, cures specifically from embryonic stem cells and cloning, as well as tremendous financial payback for the citizens of California. The Los Angeles Times recently noted that Klein plans to seek up to $3 billion more from state taxpayers for his stem cell fiefdom.

25 Nov 2010

New method to improve coordinating care in children with chronic conditions

Children with chronic health conditions such as cystic fibrosis, type 1 diabetes, sickle cell diseases and cerebral palsy represent less than two percent of the population but can consume more than 50 percent of resources at children's hospitals throughout the country. Coordinating care for these children has historically been difficult because hospitals have varying methods to identify them in their systems.

17 Nov 2010

Progressive report recommends new practices to manage errors in HIT systems

An original and progressive report on health information technology (HIT) vendors, their customers and patients, published online today, makes ground-breaking recommendations for new practices that target the reduction or elimination of tensions that currently mar relationships between many HIT vendors and their customers, specifically with regard to indemnity and error management of HIT systems.

12 Nov 2010

Bioethics in pharmaceutical industry, regenerative medicine, and public health

To celebrate 40 years of pioneering bioethics publication, the Hastings Center Report, the world's first bioethics journal, looked to the future, asking young scholars to write about what the next generation of bioethicists should take up. Out of 195 compelling submissions, four of the best essays were selected for publication in the November-December issue.

12 Nov 2010

Survey highlights complex ethical issues confronting physicians

WebMD Health Corp., the leading source of health information, today released the findings of a survey from Medscape, the company's physician destination that provides new insight into doctors' attitudes about some of the most frequent and wrenching medical ethical issues of our time.

12 Nov 2010

Conference of The MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics to focus on health disparities

The 22nd annual conference of The MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago will be held at the University of Chicago Law School, 1111 E. 60th Street, on Fri., Nov. 12, from 1 to 5 pm, and Sat., Nov. 13, from 7:30 am to 5:15 pm.

10 Nov 2010