7
votes
Accepted
The Ethics of extra treatment
You're describing an unexpected intra-operative finding. The possibility of unexpected findings (and their treatment) is usually discussed during the consent for the original procedure. Of course, in ...
- 3,178
4
votes
Accepted
Why doctors have different opinions and diagnosis for the same patient?
People are more complicated than machines. First, imagine a condition like "high blood pressure" or "underactive thyroid." It's not just a case of measuring one number about you and comparing it to ...
- 3,770
3
votes
Failing to disclose contagious illness
Whether it's ethical or not is a moot question because in the US it would be illegal under federal law to do so unless the doctor has the patient's written permission to inform the others.
The law ...
- 9,592
3
votes
Is a doctor treating a family member with dementia an AMA ethics violation?
There's nothing inherently unethical about treating a friend or family member. However, the AMA recommends against it for other reasons:
When the patient is an immediate family member, the physician’...
- 9,592
3
votes
Accepted
How do hospitals decide whether to reopen elective surgeries during this COVID-19 pandemic?
A lot of hospitals are not currently performing elective surgeries because:
Operating rooms and PACUs (post-anesthesia care units) have been converted to take care of patients with COVID
Staffing ...
- 100
3
votes
Can a past psychiatrist share information with your current psychiatrist?
Does this mean my previous psychiatrist can share information with my current psychiatrist?
Yes.1,2
There is an exception for 'psychotherapy notes', a term with a very specific meaning3 under ...
3
votes
Accepted
What is the point of herd immunity?
Protecting the majority with the minority (old people, people with bad immune systems, etc) doesn't seem to be an ethical thing to do. (Think of this case. It's kind of like putting the pain of ...
- 1,262
2
votes
Have any regulatory agencies announced they would allow live Covid-19 human challenges (for vaccine testing purposes)?
A human challenge trial ended up happening in the UK in late 2021, though it didn't examine the effectiveness of vaccines:
The UK study of 34 individuals, aged 18–30 years, shows that such
trials can ...
- 1,466
2
votes
Accepted
Can a medical doctor write a prescription which has not gone through a formal diagnosis to identify as needed?
Writing a script for someone so you can "get physical" with them is, of course, an ethical problem. As far as prescribing off the cuff for family and close friends, that depends.
It may be quite ...
- 3,178
2
votes
Can side effects on test drug be not fully disclosed and still ethical?
At least for psychological study, it seem ethical to deliberately lying to the subjects, as long as the research is review through a committee about ethical issues. Source
In medical study, I think ...
- 957
2
votes
Accepted
Can side effects on test drug be not fully disclosed and still ethical?
There are 2 questions here:
Is not disclosing potential side effects during a clinical trial ethical?
What does the "informed consent" of a clinical trial say about disclosing side effects?
...
- 15.7k
1
vote
How do hospitals decide whether to reopen elective surgeries during this COVID-19 pandemic?
There is most probably no hard rule that will fit (almost) every hospital, because it depends on a variety of factors. Central hospitals with a lot types of surgery will have a bigger pressure to work ...
- 1,161
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