Bioethics
Perspective: Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
5 Sep, 2019 | 08:18h | UTCArtificial intelligence in medicine raises legal and ethical concerns – The Conversation (free)
Related: Artificial Intelligence Is Infiltrating Medicine — But Is It Ethical? – Forbes (free) AND Artificial Intelligence in Health Care – AMA Journal of Ethics (free articles)
Study Finds No ‘Gay Gene,’ But Some Question Whether the Search Should Have Started At All
3 Sep, 2019 | 01:18h | UTCOriginal Study: Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior – Science (free for a limited period)
Other commentaries: No ‘gay gene’: Massive study homes in on genetic basis of human sexuality – Nature (free) AND Genetics may explain up to 25% of same-sex behavior, giant analysis reveals – Science (free) AND Search For ‘Gay Genes’ Comes Up Short In Large New Study – NPR (free) AND Many Genes Influence Same-Sex Sexuality, Not a Single ‘Gay Gene’ – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND No single gene associated with being gay – BBC (free)
Perspective: Why Doctors Still Offer Treatments That May Not Help
27 Aug, 2019 | 01:55h | UTCWhy Doctors Still Offer Treatments That May Not Help – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Related: When Evidence Says No, But Doctors Say Yes – ProPublica (free) AND Meta-Research: A Comprehensive Review of Randomized Trials Leading to “Medical Reversals” in Three Medical Journals (free) AND 10 Medical Myths We Should Stop Believing. Doctors, Too. – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Opinion: Unethical Work Must be Filtered Out or Flagged
18 Aug, 2019 | 21:22h | UTCUnethical work must be filtered out or flagged – Nature (free)
‘War on Cancer’ Metaphors May do Harm, Research Shows
13 Aug, 2019 | 05:28h | UTC‘War on cancer’ metaphors may do harm, research shows – The Guardian (free)
Related: Why cancer is not a war, fight, or battle – CNN (free) AND He’s a Fighter – The Atlantic (free) AND Cancer cliches to avoid: I’m not ‘brave’ – BBC (free)
Too Much Medicine: Not Enough trust?
11 Aug, 2019 | 22:18h | UTCToo Much Medicine: Not Enough trust? – Journal of Medical Ethics (free)
Related Commentary on Twitter
A really thoughtful + interesting piece by @DrZoeFritz and #RichardHolton
Are doctors ordering unnecessary tests + over-prescribing because they want patients to trust them?
What are better more ethical ways to gain patient trust? (open access) https://t.co/KPJqC8tTIz— Celia Kitzinger (@KitzingerCelia) August 9, 2019
Study: Editors’ and Authors’ Individual Conflicts of Interest Disclosure and Journal Transparency
2 Aug, 2019 | 02:31h | UTCCommentary: Medical journal editors expect authors to disclose conflicts of interest—but don’t disclose their own – Science (free)
Related: Why we should care that many editors of top medical journals get healthcare industry payments (free study and commentary)
Perspective: Should the Rich Be Allowed to Buy the Best Genes?
29 Jul, 2019 | 20:02h | UTCShould the Rich Be Allowed to Buy the Best Genes? – Air Mail (free)
Opinion: Mandate Vaccination with Care
29 Jul, 2019 | 20:01h | UTCMandate vaccination with care – Nature News (free)
Related: The global crackdown on parents who refuse vaccines for their kids has begun – VOX (free) AND Mandatory vaccination to fight against preventable disease (free) AND Italy has introduced mandatory vaccinations – other countries should follow its lead – The Conversation (free) AND Countries like German and Italy are adopting mandatory vaccination policies (free) AND Italy passes law obliging parents to vaccinate children (free)
“Governments that are considering compulsory immunizations must avoid stoking anti-vaccine sentiment”
Moral Injury and Burnout in Medicine: A Year of Lessons Learned
28 Jul, 2019 | 23:02h | UTCMoral injury and burnout in medicine: a year of lessons learned – STAT (free)
Original Perspective: Physicians aren’t ‘burning out.’ They’re suffering from moral injury – STAT (free)
Related: The Burnout Crisis in American Medicine (free commentaries on the subject)
Opinion: Must the Seriously Ill and the Bereaved be Exempt from Criticism?
23 Jul, 2019 | 01:08h | UTCMust the seriously ill and the bereaved be exempt from criticism? – The BMJ Opinion (free)
For the Sake of Doctors and Patients, We Must Fix Hospital Culture
14 Jul, 2019 | 19:56h | UTCFor the sake of doctors and patients, we must fix hospital culture – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Related: Speaking up to prevent harm: A systematic review of the safety voice literature – Safety Science (free)
“When hospitals fail to create a culture where doctors and nurses can speak up patients pay the price.”
Studies: Industry Payments and Physician Prescribing
14 Jul, 2019 | 19:50h | UTCIndustry Payments and Physician Prescribing – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period)
Original Studies: Association of Biologic Prescribing for Inflammatory Bowel Disease With Industry Payments to Physicians – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period) AND Association Between Industry Payments to Physicians and Gabapentinoid Prescribing – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period)
Perspective: “Miracle Medical Machine ECMO Makes Heroic Rescues, but Leaves Patients in Limbo”
18 Jun, 2019 | 06:58h | UTC“ECMO is not designed to be a destination, but a bridge to somewhere – recovery, transplantation or an implanted heart device. But when patients are too sick to reach those goals, ECMO can become a “bridge to nowhere,” leaving the patient in limbo…”
Opinion: The Business of Health Care Depends on Exploiting Doctors and Nurses
9 Jun, 2019 | 21:52h | UTCOpinion: The Business of Health Care Depends on Exploiting Doctors and Nurses – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
“One resource seems infinite and free: the professionalism of caregivers.”
ACP Position Paper on Physician Impairment and Rehabilitation: Reintegration Into Medical Practice While Ensuring Patient Safety
4 Jun, 2019 | 06:31h | UTCNews Release: ACP issues ethical guidance for responding to physician impairment – American College of Physicians (free)
Commentary: ACP issues ethical guidance on responding to physician impairment – ACP Internist (free)
Bioethics – “The Surgeon Had a Dilemma Only a Nazi Medical Text Could Resolve. Was it Ethical to Use It?”
31 May, 2019 | 06:31h | UTCThe surgeon had a dilemma only a Nazi medical text could resolve. Was it ethical to use it? – STAT (free)
Opinion – “Should the US Government Pay People for Their Kidneys?”
29 May, 2019 | 01:45h | UTCShould the US Government Pay People For Their Kidneys? – Forbes (free)
At $2.1 Million, New Gene Therapy Is The Most Expensive Drug Ever
26 May, 2019 | 19:56h | UTCAt $2.1 Million, New Gene Therapy Is The Most Expensive Drug Ever – NPR (free)
See also: No Miracle Drug Should Cost $2.1 Million – Bloomberg Opinion (free) AND This New Treatment Could Save the Lives of Babies. But It Costs $2.1 Million. – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
“The price set by the Swiss drugmaker Novartis may be the world’s highest for a single treatment — prompting renewed debate about how society will pay for gene-therapy breakthroughs.” (from the New York Times)
Perspective: A Contrarian View of Digital Health
22 May, 2019 | 06:10h | UTCA Contrarian View of Digital Health – Quillette (free)
Related Commentary on Twitter
Smart Watch health apps are hypochondriac's nightmare.
Doing enough measurements will make anyone feel sick.
Will cause even more harmful over testing/treatment.
We must save normal from this dangerous new toy.
Prescient piece by the wise @drjohnm.https://t.co/JBROlnpjh5
— Allen Frances (@AllenFrancesMD) May 19, 2019
Part-revived Pig Brains Raise Slew of Ethical Quandaries
19 Apr, 2019 | 08:35h | UTCPart-revived pig brains raise slew of ethical quandaries – Nature (free)
Original Study: Restoration of brain circulation and cellular functions hours post-mortem – Nature (free)
See also: Pig Experiment Raises Ethical Questions Around Brain Damage – Case Western Reserve University (free) AND Scientists: We kept pig brains alive 10 hours after death. Bioethicists: “Holy shit.” – Vox (free) AND The pigs were dead. But four hours later, scientists restored cellular functions in their brains – STAT (free) AND Scientists Partly Restore Activity in Dead-Pig Brains – The Atlantic (free)
JAMA Viewpoint: Physicians’ Trust in One Another
25 Mar, 2019 | 00:39h | UTCPhysicians’ Trust in One Another – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Related Article: Why Physicians Should Trust in Patients – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Commentary: JAMA viewpoint: Physicians’ trust in one another is a care safety and quality issue – Regenstrief Institute (free)
Perspective: CPR for all—a case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?
24 Mar, 2019 | 20:53h | UTCJames Davies: CPR for all—a case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Opinion – “Opting Out of Vaccines Should Opt You Out of American Society”
22 Mar, 2019 | 07:03h | UTCOpting Out of Vaccines Should Opt You Out of American Society – Scientific American (free)
“Although you have a right to your own body, your choice to willfully be sick ends where another’s right to be healthy begins.”
WHO Expert Panel Paves Way for Strong International Governance on Human Genome Editing
21 Mar, 2019 | 07:18h | UTCCommentaries: World Health Organization advisers call for registry of studies on human genome editing – STAT (free) AND W.H.O. Panel Demands a Registry for Human Gene Editing – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND World Health Organization panel weighs in on CRISPR-babies debate – Nature (free)