Category: Ethics
Helpful behavior during pandemic tied to recognizing common humanity, UW study finds
A new University of Washington study links helpful behavior during the pandemic, such as donating medical supplies, to individuals’ feelings of connection to others
Dying on the Waitlist
In Los Angeles County and around the country, doctors have had to decide who gets a lifesaving COVID-19 treatment and who doesn’t.
How Should Hospitals Ask Patients for Donations?
Hospital fundraising provides critical resources, but a new study looks to ensure it’s done effectively and ethically.
Adding women to corporate boards improves decisions about medical product safety
Medical supply companies with boards that included at least two women recalled life-threatening products almost a month sooner than those with all-male boards,
Contact tracing does not require invasive hi-tech surveillance
While most discussions of contact tracing have focused on countries’ use of surveillance technology, contact tracing is actually a fairly manual process..
Cancer Surgeries and Organ Transplants Are Being Put Off for Coronavirus. Can They Wait?
The elective procedures being postponed because of coronavirus aren’t all optional, but cancer patients and organ recipients are being forced to wait.
States, Hospitals Grapple With Medical Rationing
Sometimes the question is not whether to provide care for a certain patient, but when to stop it so resources can be transferred to somebody else.
People With Intellectual Disabilities May Be Denied Lifesaving Care Under These Plans as Coronavirus Spreads
Disaster preparedness plans in Washington and Alabama say people with cognitive issues are a lower priority for lifesaving treatment.
Disability Groups in Washington State Object to Medical Rationing Plans
Disability rights groups that charge a healthcare rationing strategy being considered in Washington state “places the lives of disabled people at serious risk.”
Doctors Hoarding Unproven Coronavirus Medicine by Writing Prescriptions for Themselves and Their Families
A nationwide shortage of two drugs touted as possible treatments for the coronavirus is being driven in part by doctors inappropriately prescribing the medicines for family, friends and themselves.
Coronavirus: should frontline doctors and nurses get preferential treatment?
Should a health worker who contracted coronavirus while working on the front line of the health system get preferential treatment if care is being rationed?
Terminally ill, he wanted aid-in-dying. His Catholic hospital said no.
Centura Health Corp., the Christian-run hospital, barred its doctors from providing him the assistance even though it is allowed by state law.
What the ban on gene-edited babies means for family planning
Today, it’s not longer “can we,” but rather, “should we” edit human embryos destined to be born?
Are no-nicotine hiring policies fair?
The policies are raising concern around labor and medical ethics, because by targeting smokers they disproportionately harm the poor.
Doctors Prescribe More of a Drug If They Receive Money from a Pharma Company Tied to It
Pharmaceutical companies have paid doctors billions of dollars for consulting, promotional talks, meals and more. Doctors who received payments linked to specific drugs prescribed more of those drugs.