Bioethics News and Research

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Research article sheds light on liability concerns and electronic health records systems

Electronic health record systems likely will soon become a fixture in medical settings. Advocates claim they will reduce health care costs and improve medical outcomes, which could be critical since the new health care reform law increases access for millions of Americans. Although benefits of bringing information technology to health records can be substantial, EHR systems also give rise to increased liability risks for health care providers due to possible software or hardware problems or user errors.

22 Jun 2010

Children living in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to be obese

Children in King County, Washington, are more likely to be obese if they live in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods. This is according to a team of researchers at Seattle Children's Research Institute, the University of Washington (UW), and Group Health Research Institute. Social Science & Medicine e-published the research this week in advance of printing it.

14 Jun 2010

QI initiatives in U.S. hospitals need to be overseen to ensure implementation of ethical issues: Johns Hopkins study

New findings from Johns Hopkins suggest that most quality-improvement (QI) initiatives in U.S. hospitals are reviewed internally before they are conducted, but there is not routine consideration of the ethical issues associated with them.

11 Jun 2010

Scientific, ethical issues involved in studies of drug safety after FDA approval to be evaluated

The director and a core faculty member of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics have been appointed co-chairs of an Institute of Medicine committee that will evaluate the scientific and ethical issues involved in studies of drug safety after FDA approval.

5 Jun 2010

Unsatisfactory interactions with physicians affect sickle cell disease patients' trust in medical profession

Faculty at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics have published a study that shows, among adults with sickle cell disease, that unsatisfactory interactions with health-care providers in the past affect their trust in the medical profession more broadly.

5 Jun 2010

Model to help investigators make "socially responsible decisions" in community-based health research

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a grant to investigators at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics to study obligations researchers may have to provide ancillary health care unrelated to their study while working in impoverished settings.

29 May 2010

Epeius Biotechnologies announces Phase I/II study results of Rexin-G and Reximmune-C for cancer immunotherapy

Epeius Biotechnologies Corporation today announces the clinical results of the study entitled "A Phase I/II Study of Intravenous Rexin-G and Reximmune-C for Cancer Immunotherapy: The GeneVieve Protocol" at the ASCO Annual Meeting on June 6, 2010. The presentation will be made by Dr. Jorge G. Ignacio, Chairman of the Cancer Institute and Bioethics Committee-Philippine General Hospital, and Principal Investigator of the study.

25 May 2010

New synthesized genome may lead to advances in health and biotechnology

The successful construction of a synthesized genome could enable new research and development of human therapies, biofuels, and biobased chemicals from renewable resources.

21 May 2010

Loyola University Chicago introduces new online doctorate degree program in bioethics

Classes have begun for Loyola University Chicago's new online doctorate degree program in bioethics, designed to provide advanced training in the ethical issues surrounding the complexities of modern medical research and clinical care.

20 May 2010

Diagnostic change not enough to help children diagnosed with bipolar disorder

Shifting children from the controversial diagnosis of bipolar disorder to one that more accurately reflects their symptoms will not by itself decrease the rate of psychopharmacologic treatment and is not enough to help troubled children flourish, according to a commentary in the May 20, 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine by researchers at The Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute, and a physician-researcher at Stony Brook University School of Medicine.

19 May 2010

NeoStem, Vatican's Pontifical Council collaborate to expand raise awareness of adult stem cell therapies

NeoStem, Inc.,, an international biopharmaceutical company with operations in the US and China, and the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture, today announced a joint initiative that includes their charitable organizations to expand research and raise awareness of adult stem cell therapies.

19 May 2010

Berman Institute experts available for comment on direct-to-consumer marketing of genetic test kits

Journalists covering the recent announcement by Pathway Genomics that it will sell health-related genetic marker tests to consumers—and the subsequent decision by Walgreens to postpone sales of the kits pending clarification of their legal status—are invited to interview Berman Institute experts Joan Scott or Gail Javitt.

17 May 2010

CT Dose Summit to establish freely available guidelines for performing CT scans

A national "CT Dose Summit" in Atlanta, GA this week will bring together some of the world's leading experts on medical imaging to lay the foundation for assembling optimized guidelines for performing CT scans -- a common medical imaging procedure that uses X-rays to show cross-sectional images of the body.

30 Apr 2010

Genetic test to predict newborns requiring hospital readmission shortly after birth

The results of two separate research studies taking place at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics will help physicians use genetic testing to prevent complications, and ease the worry of new parents by predicting in advance which newborns may require readmission to the hospital shortly after birth. The studies also will help physicians identify which of their young patients are likely to respond well - or not - to steroid therapy for asthma.

29 Apr 2010

Experts discuss recent advancements in personalized medicine for treating childhood disorders

Many of the world's leading experts in pediatric pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine are gathering today at a first-of-its-kind conference in Kansas City to change the way childhood diseases and illnesses are treated.

29 Apr 2010

Experts debate rationing and end-of-life care; Hospice use rises in Colorado

PBS NewsHour reports on end-of-life decisions and rationing by examining a recent debate at the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs. "Arguing for rationing: Ira Byock, a doctor and director of palliative medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

28 Apr 2010

First-of-its-kind conference on personalized medicine for pediatric patients

The world's leading experts in pediatric pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine are gathering at a first-of-its-kind conference in Kansas City to change the way childhood diseases and illnesses are treated through personalized medicine.

22 Apr 2010

Substantial number of older Americans need others to make decisions about end of life care

More than one in four elderly Americans lacked the capacity to make their own medical care decisions at the end of life, according to a study of 3,746 people to be published April 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Apr 2010

Athletes and ethicists look at fairness in sport

Just in time for baseball’s opening day, a series of articles in the Hastings Center Report asks what constitutes fairness in elite sports and what it takes to stop cheating. New issues, including the prospect of gene doping and questions about which athletes are really “female,” are explored.

1 Apr 2010

Ethical guidelines needed for research on persons with impaired decision making

How do we handle the ethical dilemmas of research on adults who can't give their informed consent? In a recent article in the journal Bioethics, ethicist Stefan Eriksson proposes a new approach to the dilemma of including dementia patients and others with limited decision making capabilities in research.

29 Mar 2010