Bioethics
Dr Frankenstein’s bioethical experiment
26 Jun, 2017 | 18:08h | UTCDr Frankenstein’s bioethical experiment – The Lancet (free)
WHO guidelines on ethical issues in public health surveillance
26 Jun, 2017 | 13:56h | UTCWHO guidelines on ethical issues in public health surveillance – World Health Organization (free)
Commentary: Ethics of public health surveillance: new guidelines – The Lancet Public Health (free)
“Public health surveillance: privacy, autonomy, equity, common good need to be balanced. New ethics guidelines” (RT @trished see Tweet)
What Should Physicians Do When They Disagree, Clinically and Ethically, with a Surrogate’s Wishes?
25 Jun, 2017 | 16:57h | UTC
Chinese courts call for death penalty for researchers who commit fraud
25 Jun, 2017 | 16:15h | UTCChinese courts call for death penalty for researchers who commit fraud – STAT News (free)
Related: China cracks down on fake data in drug trials – Nature (free) AND China launches crackdown on academic fraud – Financial Times (a few articles per month are free)
What happens when an expensive drug is approved based on a lower bar of proof?
25 Jun, 2017 | 13:50h | UTCInsurers Battle Families Over Costly Drug for Fatal Disease – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
“A new drug can cost over a million dollars, even though it’s unclear if it works. Now, insurers are refusing to pay” (RT @NYTHealth see Tweet)
Conflicts of interest in healthcare, academics, public relations and journalism
21 Jun, 2017 | 21:00h | UTC
Verbal and physical attacks against health care workers are common
21 Jun, 2017 | 19:10h | UTCA Piece of My Mind: Speak Up – JAMA (free)
“Verbal and physical attacks against health care workers are common, are underreported, and have lasting consequences in the form of persistent fear”.
The pressure of Big Pharma
21 Jun, 2017 | 02:06h | UTCThe pressure of Big Pharma – The Globe and Mail (a few articles per month are free) (RT @CADTH_ACMTS see Tweet)
“Financial conflicts of interest are commonplace in clinical practice guidelines”
The tyranny of excessive medical hierarchy
20 Jun, 2017 | 12:07h | UTCThe tyranny of excessive medical hierarchy – MJA Insight (free) (RT @pash22 see Tweet)
Who Should Assess the Needs of and Care for a Dementia Patient’s Caregiver?
20 Jun, 2017 | 12:20h | UTCWho Should Assess the Needs of and Care for a Dementia Patient’s Caregiver? – AMA Journal of Ethics (free)
“Physicians have an obligation to check in on dementia patients’ caregivers, and provide support if necessary” (RT @JournalofEthics see Tweet)
‘Not everyone wants to know’: Warnings over genetic tests
20 Jun, 2017 | 12:12h | UTC‘Not everyone wants to know’: Warnings over genetic tests – SBS (free) (RT @pash22 see Tweet)
See more on direct-to-consumer genetic testing in our May 29th issue, see #3.
What Moral Distress in Nursing History Could Suggest about the Future of Health Care
20 Jun, 2017 | 12:05h | UTC
Why are doctors killing themselves
19 Jun, 2017 | 12:55h | UTCWhy are doctors killing themselves? – by Anne Malatt, via MJA Insight (free)
Related: Why are doctors plagued by depression and suicide? A crisis comes into focus – STAT News (free)
Management of Potential Organ Donor
16 Jun, 2017 | 01:11h | UTC
‘How long have I got?’: Why many cancer patients don’t have answers
12 Jun, 2017 | 19:55h | UTC‘How long have I got?’: Why many cancer patients don’t have answers – USA Today (free)
Related: Integration of Palliative Care Into Standard Oncology Care: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline Update(free)
See more on Standardized Criteria for Palliative Care Consultation in our April 24 issue, see #8
“ASCO now recommends that everyone with advanced cancer receive palliative care within eight weeks of diagnosis.” (RT @cancerassassin1 see Tweet)
Should physicians provide futile care?
6 Jun, 2017 | 14:55h | UTCShould physicians provide futile care? – ACP Internist Blog (free)
The ‘living dead’: prisoners executed for their organs then sold to foreigners for transplants
5 Jun, 2017 | 14:46h | UTC“I have to fly tonight because they are shooting my donor tomorrow.”
“Here’s an ethics study. Would you accept organ from executed prisoner if it were a matter of your life or death?” (RT @barttels2 see Tweet)
Questions raised over physician-assisted suicide
5 Jun, 2017 | 14:48h | UTC
Direct-to-Consumer Medical Testing in the Era of Value-Based Care
29 May, 2017 | 15:24h | UTCViewpoint: Direct-to-Consumer Medical Testing in the Era of Value-Based Care – JAMA (free)
See also a recent discussion on direct-to-consumer genetic testing in our April 10th issue, see #5
Others disagree: “Dissing every consumer medical test as “low value”. Sorry, that’s not true. It’s called paternalism” (RT @EricTopol see Tweet)
Trial of Transplantation of HCV-Infected Kidneys into Uninfected Recipients
5 May, 2017 | 20:19h | UTCCorrespondence: Trial of Transplantation of HCV-Infected Kidneys into Uninfected Recipients – The New England Journal of Medicine (free)
Transplantation of HCV-infected-kidneys into uninfected recipients seems feasible in this era of direct-acting antiviral agents, maybe shortening waiting times for those willing to take the risk.
Association Between Academic Medical Center Pharmaceutical Detailing Policies and Physician Prescribing
4 May, 2017 | 20:14h | UTCAssociation Between Academic Medical Center Pharmaceutical Detailing Policies and Physician Prescribing – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Doctors Prescribe More Generics When Drug Reps Are Kept At Bay – NPR (free) AND Limiting Interactions with Pharma Reps Cuts Brand Name Drug Prescriptions – Physician’s First Watch (free)
Give patients access to their medical records
5 May, 2017 | 20:20h | UTCEditor’s Choice: Give patients access to their medical records – The BMJ, by Fiona Godlee, editor in chief (free)
Patients are being empowered in decisions regarding their health care, and this is probably a tendency for the future.
The Patients Were Saved. That’s Why the Families Are Suing
13 Apr, 2017 | 16:01h | UTCThe Patients Were Saved. That’s Why the Families Are Suing – The New York Times (free)
“Historically, the practice has been “if in doubt, err on the side of aggressive, life-sustaining treatment,””. That might be changing.
F.D.A. Will Allow 23andMe to Sell Genetic Tests for Disease Risk to Consumers
10 Apr, 2017 | 16:03h | UTCF.D.A. Will Allow 23andMe to Sell Genetic Tests for Disease Risk to Consumers – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
See also: Before you send your spit to 23andMe, what you need to know – STAT News (free) AND 23andMe given green light to sell DNA tests for 10 diseases – Nature News (free) AND 23andMe Rides Again: FDA Clears Genetic Tests To Predict Disease Risk – Forbes (free) AND Too Much Information? FDA Clears 23AndMe to Sell Home Genetic Tests for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s – Scientific American (free)
“The controversial step will significantly expand direct-to-consumer testing – but what if the news is bad?” (from Scientific American above)
Genetic assessment of age-associated Alzheimer disease risk
23 Mar, 2017 | 17:01h | UTCGenetic assessment of age-associated Alzheimer disease risk: Development and validation of a polygenic hazard score – PLOS Medicine (free) (RT @EricTopol see Tweet)
See also: New Alzheimer’s test can predict age when disease will appear – The Guardian (free)
*Very interesting, but do we want to know?*