Prenatal diagnosis, especially noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), has changed the experience of pregnancy, prenatal care and responsibilities in Israel and Germany in different ways. These differences reflect the countries' historical legacies, medico-legal policies, normative and cultural identities. Building on this observation, the contributors of this book present conversations between leading scholars from Israel and Germany based on an empirical bioethical perspective, analyses about the reshaping of 'life' by biomedicine, and philosophical reflections on socio-cultural claims and epistemic horizons of responsibilities. Practices and discussions of reproductive medicine transform the concepts of responsibility and irresponsibility.

As the practice of modern medicine becomes more and more pharmacology dependent, the role of pharmacy technicians is becoming more complex. This is true in terms of the medications they are required to deliver, as well as the legal responsibilities and ethical considerations that come with administering those medicines. Essentials of Law and Ethics for Pharmacy Technicians, now in its Third Edition, is designed specifically to provide technicians with the legal and ethical information they need to perform their jobs with absolute confidence. It covers all U.S. federal laws regarding pharmacy practice as well as other laws and regulations and their applicability to pharmacy technicians. It also addresses current issues such as herbal medications, privacy laws and rules, and drug pedigree. A unique section on ethics offers extensive discussion points and cases. Appendices provide extensive information on practice regulation in all states. Fully revised to address the latest procedural, ethical, and technological developments in this rapidly changing field, this third edition of a bestseller has been edited for clarity and provides a wealth of new material, including a new appendix on the legal status of electronic transmission of prescriptions. It covers the latest in state and federal regulations pertaining to the administration of new medications, including birth control and the morning-after pill, as well as new regulations on over-the-counter label claims. An essential resource for students and practicing technicians, this reference brings together the information that pharmacy technicians need to practice in a manner that is both legal and ethical. What's New in this Edition: Updated information on over-the-counter label claims Updated sections on drug samples and the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 New sections on drug pedigrees and United States Pharmacopoeia Chapter 797 Expanded discussion of state rules and ethics regarding dispensing the morning-after pill and birth control medications New appendix on the legal status of electronic transmission of prescriptions Pedagogical Features: Offers end-of-chapter discussion questions and examples Contains a chapter on ethics with discussion points and cases Presents information in an easy-to-read format

Advances in medical treatment now enable physicians to prolong life to a previously unknown extent, however in many instances these new techniques mean not the saving of life but prolonging the act of dying. In the eyes of many, medical technology has run out of control and contributes to unnecessary suffering. Hence the demand has arisen that patients should be entitled to choose death when pain and physical and mental deterioration have destroyed the possibility of a dignified and meaningful life and that their doctors should help them to realize this endeavor.
At the present time there are seven jurisdictions in the world that, with various restrictions, have legalized the practice of assisted death -- physician-assisted suicide and/or voluntary euthanasia - to wit, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland in Europe and the states of Oregon, Washington and Montana in the United States. Four of these regimes - in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the state of Oregon -- have been functioning for many years, and we have for them a substantial body of data as well as much observational research. This book is based upon this material.
The literature dealing with the moral, legal and social aspects of assisted death is voluminous, but there is a paucity of writing that provides a detailed account of the way these four regimes are actually working. Many partisans, on both sides of the issue, cite existing data selectively or, at times, willfully distort the empirical evidence in order to strengthen their case. Based on the documentary record and interviews with officials and scholars, this book seeks to give the specialist as well as the general interested reader a reliable picture of the way assisted death functions and to draw relevant lessons. While accurate factual information cannot settle a moral debate, it nevertheless is a precondition of any well-founded argument.
'The author speaks authoritatively about the issues he addresses. I think this book does make an important contribution to the field. It will be of interest to students and scholars of PAS as a source of information and reference. I definitely recommend publication.' Stuart Youngner, Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
'The information collected here makes an important contribution to the literature on PAS because it collects a broad array of relevant information into a single volume. It is interesting and enlightening. This will make the book a valuable resource for anyone interested in the subject and an especially useful resource for academics who study or teach about the issues.' Rosamond Rhodes, Director, Bioethics Education, Mt Sinai School of Medicine

There is an understandable tendency or desire to attribute blame when patients are harmed by their own healthcare. However, many cases of iatrogenic harm involve little or no moral culpability. Even when blame is justified, an undue focus on one individual often deflects attention from other important factors within the inherent complexity of modern healthcare. This revised second edition advocates a rethinking of accountability in healthcare based on science, the principles of a just culture, and novel therapeutic legal processes. Updated to include many recent relevant events, including the Keystone Project in the USA and the Mid Staffordshire scandal in the UK, this book considers how the concepts of a just culture have been successfully implemented so far, and makes recommendations for best practice. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with patient safety, medical law and the regulation of healthcare.

In times of global economic and political crises, the notion of solidarity is gaining new currency. This book argues that a solidarity-based perspective can help us to find new ways to address pressing problems. Exemplified by three case studies from the field of biomedicine: databases for health and disease research, personalised healthcare, and organ donation, it explores how solidarity can make a difference in how we frame problems, and in the policy solutions that we can offer.

All human behaviour is, ultimately, a moral undertaking, in which each situation must be considered on its own merits. As a result ethical conduct is complex. Despite the proliferation of Codes of Conduct and other forms of professional guidance, there are no easy answers to most human problems. Mental Health Ethics encourages readers to heighten their awareness of the key ethical dilemmas found in mainstream contemporary mental health practice. This text provides an overview of traditional and contemporary ethical perspectives and critically examines a range of ethical and moral challenges present in contemporary 'psychiatric-mental' health services. Offering a comprehensive and interdisciplinary perspective, it includes six parts, each with their own introduction, summary and set of ethical challenges, covering: fundamental ethical principles; legal issues; specific challenges for different professional groups; working with different service user groups; models of care and treatment; recovery and human rights perspectives. Providing detailed consideration of issues and dilemmas, Mental Health Ethics helps all mental health professionals keep people at the centre of the services they offer.

Continuous sedation until death (sometimes referred to as terminal sedation or palliative sedation) is an increasingly common practice in end-of-life care. However, it raises numerous medical, ethical, emotional and legal concerns, such as the reducing or removing of consciousness (and thus potentially causing 'subjective death'), the withholding of artificial nutrition and hydration, the proportionality of the sedation to the symptoms, its adequacy in actually relieving symptoms rather than simply giving onlookers the impression that the patient is undergoing a painless 'natural' death, and the perception that it may be functionally equivalent to euthanasia. This book brings together contributions from clinicians, ethicists, lawyers and social scientists, and discusses guidelines as well as clinical, emotional and legal aspects of the practice. The chapters shine a critical spotlight on areas of concern and on the validity of the justifications given for the practice, including in particular the doctrine of double effect.

This valuable guide helps develop the critical thinking skills needed to become effective patient advocates. Pinpointing the systematic methods of reasoning through an ethical dilemma, this is the ultimate resource to resolving ethical issues in a system undergoing fundamental change. The fourth edition reflects contemporary issues such as informed consent, abortion, death and dying, and behavior control. Numerous case studies are also included. Nurses, nursing students, physicians and clergy.

Since its inception as an international principle to protect the welfare of patients and volunteers taking part in medical research, informed consent has become increasingly important within healthcare. Despite its ubiquitous status, there are a number of scholars who are beginning to question whether consent is adequate for contemporary biomedical research. The Limits of Consent considers a number of criticisms that have been levelled at the prominence given to autonomy, a central tenet underpinning the rationale for informed consent in Western bioethics. It raises questions about how quickly and easily this principle has been adopted, and how appropriate it is for those actively engaged in research. In the context of genetic research, for example, the individual's overriding right of autonomy to give consent to research could have huge implications for other members of their families.
The Limits of Consent questions the assumption that informed consent protects or facilitates individual autonomy, and discusses empirical studies which suggest that gaining a truly informed consent can be difficult to achieve in practice. With the expectation of treatment and guidance from the physician, how much is the process of consent governed by social norms and expectations? The Limits of Consent focuses upon three principal areas within biomedical research: clinical trials, genetic research, and research with those who may have impaired capacity to consent. It is a truly multi-disciplinary book, incorporating perspectives from medicine, law, philosophy and sociology.
The Limits of Consent is a fascinating exploration of the inadequacies of consent, and will appeal to those in the fields of bioethics, socio-legal studies, sociology, and health law. Policy makers, research ethics committee members, and those healthcare professionals with an interest in medical ethics, will also find the book of interest.

Medical ethics is the disciplined study of medical morality, with two goals: critically appraising current medical morality and identifying how it should be improved. Medical morality has three components. Physicians, patients, communities, and policy makers have beliefs about what is good and bad character, and right and wrong behavior, in patient care, biomedical research, medical education, and health policy. On the basis of these beliefs, physicians, patients, communities, and policy makers make judgments about how physicians ought to conduct themselves in patient care, research, education, and the formation and implementation of health policy. They then act on their judgments. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Medical Ethics contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1,000 cross-referenced entries on ethical reasoning and its key components; medical ethics, professional medical ethics, and bioethics; and topics in clinical ethics, research ethics, and healthcare policy ethics. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about medical ethics.

Who should have access to assisted reproductive technologies? Which one of many seriously ill patients should be offered the next available transplant organ? When may a surrogate decision maker decide to withdraw life-prolonging measures from an unconscious patient? Questions like these feature prominently in the field of health care ethics and in the education of health care professionals. This book provides a concise introduction to the major concepts, principles and issues in health care ethics, using case studies throughout to illustrate and analyse challenging ethical issues in contemporary health care. Topics range widely, from confidentiality and truthfulness to end-of-life care and research on human subjects. Ethics and Health Care will be a vital resource for students of applied ethics, bioethics, professional ethics, health law and medical sociology, as well as students of medicine, nursing and other health care professions.

Simona Giordano presents the first full philosophical study of ethical issues in the treatment of anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Beginning with a comprehensive analysis of these conditions and an exploration of their complex causes, she then proceeds to address legal and ethical dilemmas such as a patient's refusal of life-saving treatment. Illustrated with many case-studies, Understanding Eating Disorders is an essential tool for anyone working with sufferers of these much misunderstood conditions, and for all those ethicists, lawyers, and medical practitioners engaged with the widely relevant issues they raise.

Effective palliative care that rests on a sound ethical foundation requires ongoing discussions about patient and family values and preferences. This is especially important when addressing care at end-of-life including artificial nutrition and hydration, withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies and palliative sedation as well as requests for assistance in hastening death. The eighth volume in the HPNA Palliative Nursing Manuals series, Legal and Ethical Aspects of Palliative Care, provides an overview of critical communication skills and formal organizational mechanisms, such as ethics committees and interdisciplinary rounds, required for decisions in ethical dilemmas which respect diversity in the views of colleagues, as well as patients. The content of the concise, clinically focused volumes in the HPNA Palliative Nursing Manuals series is one resource for nurses preparing for specialty certification exams and provides a quick-reference in daily practice.

Although modern medicine enjoys unprecedented success in providing excellent technical care, many patients are dissatisfied with the poor quality of care or the unprofessional manner in which physicians sometimes deliver it.Recently, this patient dissatisfaction has led to quality-of-care and professionalism crises in medicine.

Inthis book, the author proposes a notion of virtuous physician to address these crises.He discusses the nature of the two crises and efforts by the medical profession to resolve them and then he briefly introduces the notion of virtuous physician and outlines its basic features.Further, virtue theory is discussed, along with virtue ethics and virtue epistemology, and specific virtues, especially as they relate to medicine.

The author also explores the ontological priority of caring as the metaphysical virtue for grounding the notion of virtuous physician, and two essential ontic virtues-care and competence.In addition to this, he examines the transformation of competence into prudent wisdom and care into personal radical love to forge the compound virtue of prudent love, which is sufficient for defining the virtuous physician.Lastly, two clinical case stories are reconstructed which illustrate the various virtues associated with medical practice, and it is discussed howthe notion of virtuous physician addresses the quality-of-care and professionalism crises.

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Essential Philosophy of Psychiatry is a concise introduction to the growing field of philosophy of psychiatry. Divided into three main aspects of psychiatric clinical judgement, values, meanings and facts, it examines the key debates about mental health care, and the philosophical ideas and tools needed to assess those debates, in six chapters.
In addition to outlining the state of play, Essential Philosophy of Psychiatry presents a coherent and unified approach across the different debates, characterized by a rejection of reductionism and an emphasis on the ineliminability of uncodified skilled judgement.
The first part, Values, outlines the debate about whether diagnosis of mental illness is essentially value-laden and argues that the prospects for reducing illness or disease to plainly factual matters are poor. It also explains the important role of skilled contextual judgement, rather than a principles-based deduction, in ethical judgement.
The second part, Meanings, examines the central role of understanding and a shared first person perspective, both against attempts to reduce meaning to basic information-processing mechanisms and to explain away the difficulties of understanding psychopathology in recent models of delusion.
The third part, Facts, shows the importance of uncodified clinical judgements, both in assessing the validity of psychiatric taxonomy and in the application of Evidence Based Medicine. Despite advances in the codifaction of practice and operationalism of diagnosis, an element of judgement remains in the assessment both of what, at one level, is good evidence for diagnosis and treatment and what, at a higher level, is good evidence for thevalidity of classification overall.

Described by The New York Times as 'Britain's foremost scholar of criminal law', Professor Glanville Williams was one of the greatest academic lawyers of the twentieth century. To mark the centenary of his birth in 2011, leading criminal law theorists and medical law ethicists from around the world were invited to contribute essays discussing the sanctity of life and criminal law while engaging with Williams' many contributions to these fields. In re-examining his work, the contributors have produced a provocative set of original essays that make a significant contribution to the current debate in these areas.

Through the sobering story of Maggie Worthen and her mother, Nancy, this book tells of one family's struggle with severe brain injury and how developments in neuroscience call for a reconsideration of what society owes patients at the edge of consciousness. Drawing upon over fifty in-depth family interviews, the history of severe brain injury from Quinlan to Schiavo, and his participation in landmark clinical trials, such as the first use of deep brain stimulation in the minimally conscious state, Joseph J. Fins captures the paradox of medical and societal neglect even as advances in neuroscience suggest new ways to mend the broken brain. Responding to the dire care provided to these marginalized patients, after heroically being saved, Fins places society's obligations to patients with severe injury within the historical legacy of the civil and disability rights movements, offering a stirring synthesis of public policy and physician advocacy.

Despite its absence in the written text of the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights now regularly uses the concept of autonomy when deciding cases concerning assisted dying, sexuality and reproductive rights, self-determination, fulfilment of choices and control over body and mind. But is the concept of autonomy as expressed in the ECtHR reasoning an appropriate tool for regulating reproduction or medical practice? Caring Autonomy reveals and evaluates the type of individual the ECtHR expresses and shapes through its autonomy-based case law. It claims that from a social and ethical perspective, the current individualistic interpretation of the concept of autonomy is inadequate, and proposes a new reading of the concept that is rooted in the acknowledgment and appreciation of human interdependence and the importance of interpersonal trust and care.

The idea of a philosophy of palliative care emerged with Cicely Saunders' vision for 'a good death', and was developed further with the WHO definition of palliative care. It is now being applied not only to cancer patients, but to all patients in end of life situations. As this 'palliative care approach' advances, it is important to pause and comment on its effectiveness. It is a philosophy of patient care, and is therefore open to critique and evaluation. Using the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine, 3rd edition as their basic reference, Randall and Downie present their argument that the palliative care approach has become too busy and over-professionalised, and that it therefore has significant weaknesses. They examine the framework of the specialty - quality of life, autonomy, dignity, patient-centredness, and the priority assigned to relatives in the remit of care - and the moral problems associated with implementing such a philosophy. The resource implications of various health care policies are also discussed in relation to the WHO definition. Whilst the authors defend the achievements of palliative care and those who work in the profession, they present suggestions for an alternative philosophy. Their philosophy prompts many ethical and philosophical questions about the future of palliative care.

Recent advances in the brain sciences have dramatically improved our understanding of brain function. As we find out more and more about what makes us tick, we must stop and consider the ethical implications of this new found knowledge. Will having a new biology of the brain through imaging make us less responsible for our behavior and lose our free will? Should certain brain scan studies be disallowed on the basis of moral grounds? Why is the media so interested in reporting results of brain imaging studies? What ethical lessons from the past can best inform the future of brain imaging? These compelling questions and many more are tackled by a distinguished group of contributors to this volume on neuroethics. The wide range of disciplinary backgrounds that the authors represent, from neuroscience, bioethics and philosophy, to law, social and health care policy, education, religion and film, allow for profoundly insightful and provocative answers to these questions, and open up the door to a host of new ones. The contributions highlight the timeliness of modern neuroethics today, and assure the longevity and importance of neuroethics for generations to come.

The privacy concerns discussed in the 1990s in relation to the New Genetics failed to anticipate the relevant issues for individuals, families, geneticists and society. Consumers, for example, can now buy their personal genetic information and share it online. The challenges facing genetic privacy have evolved as new biotechnologies have developed, and personal privacy is increasingly challenged by the irrepressible flow of electronic data between the personal and public spheres and by surveillance for terrorism and security risks. This book considers the right to know and the right not to know about your own and others' genomes. It discusses new privacy concerns and developments in ethical thinking, with the greater emphasis on solidarity and equity. The multidisciplinary approach covers current topics such as biobanks and forensic databases, DIY testing, group rights and accountability, the food we eat and the role of the press and the new digital media.

In the face of rapid advances in medical research and treatment, bioethics has become a serious social concern. Originally published in 1996 and later chosen by "World magazine as one of the top 100 books of the twentieth century, Gilbert Meilaender's "Bioethics covers a wide range of pressing bioethical issues and offers discerning guidance on how Christians ought to think about them.

In admirably clear language Meilaender discusses abortion, assisted reproduction, genetic advance and prenatal screening, care for the dying and euthanasia, human experimentation, and more. This new edition of his "Bioethics features updated information throughout, a fuller discussion of human embryos -- including stem cell research -- and a thorough rewrite of the chapter on organ donation.

Praise for the first edition

"The Christian who simply wants to get a reliable handle on [bioethics] will find nothing better than this splendid little book."
-- "First Things

"Concise and definite, this primer does its duty well."
-- "Booklist

"A clarion call for a more circumspect examination of current medical procedures."
-- "Library Journal

"An edifying, informative, and most welcome challenge to the superficial secularism that holds salvation to be scientific rather than divine."
-- "National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly

"Sets out in clear, accessible, and often eloquent language the core issues of bioethics from a Christian viewpoint."
-- "Christian Scholar's Review

"This pithy little book offers a vision and wisdom rarely found in volumes many times its size."
-- "Journal of Christian Nursing

The NHS has undergone substantial reform and investment since 1980, yet demand for care still exceeds supply and difficult choices remain between patients. Why is this so? On what basis should these decisions be made and by whom? As patients become 'consumers' of care, Who Should We Treat? puts patients' rights into their political, economic, and managerial perspectives to consider one of the most pressing problems in contemporary society.

Genetics promises to provide one of the most powerful approaches to understanding the functional pathology of the human brain. This book presents a critical review of the evidence for a genetic contribution to common psychiatric conditions and the rarer single-gene disorders that may have psychiatric presentations
The first section of the book introduces the reader to molecular biology and the techniques of molecular genetics. The coverage then moves on to consider the genetics of normal and abnormal development, followed by a look at the genetics of abnormal behaviour in adults. This section includes, amongst others, consideration of personality disorders, schizophrenia and the dementias. The final section considers the applications of the work and covers issues such as counselling and ethics, closing with a look to the future.
The editors are internationally renowned figures in this field and they have invited a team of equally eminent chapter authors.
This will be essential reading for psychiatrists and geneticists and will be essential reading for psychiatrists and geneticists and will be of interest to neurologists, psychologists and neuroscientists.