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.

This book provides an introductory survey of various bioethical issues facing society from beginning of life issues to end of life issues, and several issues in between.

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.

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 insightful study examines the deeply personal and heart-wrenching tensions among financial considerations, emotional attachments, and moral arguments that motivate end-of-life decisions. America's health care system was built on the principle that life should be prolonged whenever possible, regardless of the costs. This commitment has often meant that patients spend their last days suffering from heroic interventions that extend their life by only weeks or months. Increasingly, this approach to end-of-life care is coming under scrutiny, from a moral as well as a financial perspective. Sociologist Roi Livne documents the rise and effectiveness of hospice and palliative care, and growing acceptance of the idea that a life consumed by suffering may not be worth living. Values at the End of Life combines an in-depth historical analysis with an extensive study conducted in three hospitals, where Livne observed terminally ill patients, their families, and caregivers negotiating treatment. Livne describes the ambivalent, conflicted moments when people articulate and act on their moral intuitions about dying. Interviews with medical staff allowed him to isolate the strategies clinicians use to help families understand their options. As Livne discovered, clinicians are advancing the idea that invasive, expensive hospital procedures often compound a patient's suffering. Affluent, educated families were more readily persuaded by this moral calculus than those of less means. Once defiant of death-or even in denial-many American families and professionals in the health care system are beginning to embrace the notion that less treatment in the end may be better treatment.

Human embryo research touches upon strongly felt moral convictions, and it raises such deep questions about the promise and perils of scientific progress that debate over its development has become a moral and political imperative. From in vitro fertilization to embryonic stem cell research, cloning, and gene editing, Americans have repeatedly struggled with how to define the moral status of the human embryo, whether to limit its experimental uses, and how to contend with sharply divided public moral perspectives on governing science. Experiments in Democracy presents a history of American debates over human embryo research from the late 1960s to the present, exploring their crucial role in shaping norms, practices, and institutions of deliberation governing the ethical challenges of modern bioscience. J. Benjamin Hurlbut details how scientists, bioethicists, policymakers, and other public figures have attempted to answer a question of great consequence: how should the public reason about aspects of science and technology that effect fundamental dimensions of human life? Through a study of one of the most significant science policy controversies in the history of the United States, Experiments in Democracy paints a portrait of the complex relationship between science and democracy, and of U.S. society's evolving approaches to evaluating and governing science's most challenging breakthroughs.

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

In the warped world of prescription drug pricing, generic drugs can cost more than branded ones, old drugs can be relaunched at astronomical prices, and low-cost options are shut out of the market. In Drugs, Money and Secret Handshakes, Robin Feldman shines a light into the dark corners of the pharmaceutical industry to expose a web of shadowy deals in which higher-priced drugs receive favorable treatment and patients are channeled toward the most expensive medicines. At the center of this web are the highly secretive middle players who establish coverage levels for patients and negotiate with drug companies. By offering lucrative payments to these middle players (as well as to doctors and hospitals), drug companies ensure that inexpensive drugs never gain traction. This system of perverse incentives has delivered the kind of exorbitant drug prices - and profits - that everyone loves except for those who pay the bills.

With contributions from: Eric Blyth, Ken Daniels, Julia Feast, Robert Lee, Nina Martin, Alexina McWhinnie, Derek Morgan, Clare Murray, Sharon Pettle, Claire Potter, Jim Richards and Francoise Shenfield

The separation of procreation from conception has broadened notions of parenthood and created novel dilemmas. A woman may carry a foetus derived from gametes neither or only one of which came from her or her partner; or she may carry a foetus created using in vitro fertilisation (IVF) with the purpose of handing it to two other parents one, neither or both of whom may be genetically related to the prospective child. Parents may consist of single-sex couples, only one of them genetically related to the child; the prospective mother may be past her menopause; and genetic parenthood after death is now achievable. In a world increasingly reliant on medical science, how can the argument that equates traditional with natural and novel with unnatural/unethical be justified? Should there be legislation, which is notoriously slow to change, in a field driven by dazzling new possibilities at ever faster rate; particularly when restrictions differ from country to country, so that those who can afford it travel elsewhere for their treatment of choice? Whose rights are paramount - the adults hoping to build a family or the prospective child(ren)s future well being? On what basis can apparently competing rights be regulated or adjudicated and how and to what extent can these be enforced in practice?

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.

The SAGE Handbook of Health Care Ethics is an influential collection of work by leading scholars on the fundamental and emerging themes which define health care ethics. Combining international and interdisciplinary perspectives, the Handbook provides a cutting-edge account of debates in five key areas: - health care ethics in an era of globalization - beginning and end-of-life - vulnerable populations - research ethics and technologies - public health and human rights. This authoritative Handbook brings together experts with backgrounds in philosophy, sociology, law, public policy and the health professions and reflects the increasing impact of globalisation and the dynamic advances in the fields of bioscience and genetics, which keep ethics at the centre of debates about the future direction of healthcare. It is an invaluable resource for all students, practitioners, academics and researchers investigating ethical issues in relation to healthcare.

Mr. Ito's children act as his informal translators, but his doctor isn't sure their translations are accurate or complete. Is Mr. Ito getting the medical information he needs? Ten-year-old Hannah arrives for her checkup with a bruised nose and an irritable father. Medical student Melanie is concerned for Hannah's safety but wary of making accusations without evidence. Dr. Joshi worries that her patient is putting her husband, who is also Dr. Joshi's patient, at risk by concealing a sexually transmitted disease. How can she act in the interest of both husband and wife without compromising doctor-patient confidentiality? Using the accessible and richly layered medium of comics, this collection reveals how ethical dilemmas in medical practice play out in real life. Designed for the classroom, Clinical Ethics provides an excellent introduction to medical ethics and presents case studies that will spark meaningful discussions among students and practitioners. The topics covered include patient autonomy, informed consent, unconscious bias, mandated reporting, confidentiality, medical mistakes, surrogate decision-making, and futility. The "Questions for Further Reflection" and "Related Readings" sections provide additional materials for a deeper exploration of the issues. Co-created by experts in clinical medicine, ethics, literature, and comics, Clinical Ethics presents a new way for students and practitioners to engage with fundamental concerns in medical ethics.

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.

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.

This book proposes an ethical and legal framework to improve the responses to social issues related not only to the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, but also to future pandemics. Its contents cover the issues that are likely to be most controversial in any public health crisis. It starts by discussing non-pharmacological measures, such as the appropriateness of confinement, how to control compliance with public health measures and the ethical, legal and social acceptability of health certificates. Then it turns to issues related to the production, distribution and administration of vaccines, with a particular focus on the design and implementation of vaccination policies. Finally, it analyses the most appropriate criteria to develop a triage, when the situation brings us to this terrible scenario. The analyses presented in this book are based on the ethical and legal frameworks, as well as the social context, of the European Union, and aims to address the main dilemmas faced by any liberal democracy dealing with a pandemic: how to reconcile the defense against a public health crisis together with a respect for fundamental rights and freedoms. The European legal systems have developed a number of conceptual tools designed to ensure that there is no room for arbitrariness in the restrictions introduced by the political power in emergency situations, and this book builds upon these tools. The Ethical, Legal and Social Issues of Pandemics: An Analysis from the EU Perspective is a predominantly practice-oriented book, which will help policy makers to adopt policies that effectively combine public health needs with individual rights and freedoms. It will also help health care givers to understand better the ethical and legal issues involved in their work and citizens, in general, to participate in public decision making in an informed manner. Finally, it will help to design tools that faithfully comply with existing fundamental rights standards.

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.

This book provides the first comprehensive, historically based, philosophical interpretations of two texts of Thomas Percival's professional ethics in medicine set in the context of his intellectual biography. Preceded by his privately published and circulated Medical Jurisprudence of 1794, Thomas Percival (1740-1804) published Medical Ethics in 1803, the first book thus titled in the global histories of medicine and medical ethics. From his days as a student at the Warrington Academy and the medical schools of the universities of Edinburgh and Leyden, Percival steeped himself in the scientific method of Francis Bacon (1561-1626). McCullough shows how Percival became a Baconian moral scientist committed to Baconian deism and Dissent. Percival also drew on and significantly expanded the work of his predecessor in professional ethics in medicine, John Gregory (1724-1773). The result is that Percival should be credited with co-inventing professionalism in medicine with Gregory. To aid and encourage future scholarship, this book brings together the first time three essential Percival texts, Medical Jurisprudence, Medical Ethics, and Extracts from the Medical Ethics of Dr. Percival of 1823, the bridge from Medical Ethics to the 1847 Code of Medical Ethics on the American Medical Association. To support comparative reading, this book provides concordances of Medical Jurisprudence to Medical Ethics and of Medical Ethics to Extracts. Finally, this book includes the first Chronology of Percival's life and works.

This book offers the first ever book-length treatment of the topic of transitioning from adolescence to adulthood with autism and the attendant ethical, legal and social issues for the individual as well as caregivers and professionals. It features experts in a variety of areas (law, bioethics, philosophy, pediatrics, neurology, medicine, psychology, special education, social work, employment, civic participation, social media) who provide commentary on these areas and the relevant ethical/legal/social challenges young autistic adults face in these different areas. This is an indispensable read for educators, therapists, and other professionals who work in transition with young autistic adults.

This open access book reflects on matters of social and ethical concern raised in the daily practices of those working in and around precision oncology. Each chapter addresses the experiences, concerns and issues at stake for people who work in settings where precision oncology is practiced, enacted, imagined or discussed. It subsequently discusses and analyses bioethical dilemmas, scientific challenges and economic trade-offs, the need for new policies, further technological innovation, social work, as well as phenomenological research. This volume takes a broad actor-centred perspective as, whenever cancer is present, the range of actors with issues at stake appears almost unlimited. This perspective and approach opens up the possibility for further in-depth and diverse questions, posed by the actors themselves, such as: How are cancer researchers navigating biological uncertainties? How do clinicians and policy-makers address ethical dilemmas around prioritisation of care? What are the patients' experiences with, and hopes for, precision oncology? How do policy-makers and entrepreneurs envisage precision oncology? These questions are of great interest to a broad audience, including cancer researchers, oncologists, policy-makers, medical ethicists and philosophers, social scientists, patients and health economists.

A bioethic of obligations and responsibilities, based on the Jewish tradition The Jewish tradition has important perspectives, history, and wisdom that can contribute significantly to crucial contemporary healthcare deliberations. Care and Covenant: A Jewish Bioethic of Responsibility demonstrates how numerous classic Jewish texts can add new ideas to the world of medicine today. Rabbi Jason Weiner draws on fifteen years of experience working in a hospital as a practitioner to develop an "ethic of responsibility." This book seeks to develop an approach to bioethical dilemmas that is primarily informed by personal and communal obligations as well as social responsibilities. Weiner applies unique and inspiring values found in Judaism to encourage healthcare providers to remain dedicated to preventing harm and providing care to all. Each chapter investigates relevant philosophical questions such as what the expectations of a society or government are and what we should do when our obligations to others violate our own moral principles, safety, or ability to assist. Care and Covenant provides analytical, philosophical, and evidence-based scholarship to guide discussions on ethics in healthcare.

This book is a companion to Clinical Ethics on Film and deals specifically with the myriad of healthcare ethics dilemmas. While Clinical Ethics on Film focuses on bedside ethics dilemmas that affect the healthcare provider-patient relationship, Healthcare Ethics on Film provides a wider lens on ethics dilemmas that interfere with healthcare delivery, such as healthcare access, discrimination, organizational ethics, or resource allocation. The book features detailed and comprehensive chapters on the Tuskegee Study, AIDS, medical assistance in dying, the U.S. healthcare system, reproductive justice, transplant ethics, pandemic ethics and more. Healthcare Ethics on Film is the perfect tool for remote or live teaching. It's designed for medical educators and healthcare professionals teaching any aspect of bioethics, healthcare ethics or the health sciences, including medical humanities, history of medicine and health law. It is also useful to the crossover market of film buffs and other readers involved in healthcare or bioethics.

Cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated plants dating back 12,000 years and demonstrates medicinal properties including immune support, anti-inflammatory effects, and cancer-fighting potential. As cannabis receives regulatory approval in the United States, clinicians will need guidelines to prescribe medical marijuana for various health conditions. This book presents information to healthcare professionals focusing on medical cannabis. It is a science-based overview providing clinical recommendations and dosing guidelines for practitioners to advise patients appropriately. Features: Discusses the endocannabinoid system role in homeostasis, pain control, and regulatory function in health and disease Advises clinicians on cannabis use in patients with cancer; cardiovascular, brain, and liver function; mood disorders; and patients receiving palliative care Includes information on cannabis nutrition as well as the cannabis microbiome Features information on cannabis quality control for safe and effective delivery Cannabis: A Clinician's Guide is written for clinicians providing a resource guide to help them assess the medicinal value of cannabis, answer patient and consumer questions, and recommend its use optimally. The book is divided into three sections covering cannabis science, use in clinical practice, and regulations and standards. It includes practical information on dosing guidelines and dispensary insights, personal cannabis stories, and an in depth look at the nutritional benefits of cannabis and how to use it in daily life. From the Author: "As a clinical nutritionist, I have been involved in the use of cannabis since 1981 while researching diabetes in India. Ayurvedic medicine listed cannabis as a beneficial herb with curing properties. In 1983, a Chinese medicine doctor in the Peoples Republic of China gave me a cannabis herbal supplement for sleep that he claimed Chairman Mao took regularly. Upon returning to the United States, no one would even talk to me about cannabis because of its Schedule I status. During an Antioxidants class taught for Everglades University, I included information on cannabis, but was restricted from including it in the course description. Cannabis: A Clinician's Guide unveils deceit on this herbal medicine used for thousands of years providing insight into the science behind its use and how to incorporate cannabis into daily life, especially for those suffering from neurological disorders, cancer, and mood disorders."

Everyone gets to be a patient sooner or later. Almost everyone has some experience of being misunderstood by doctors; encounters with difficult doctors; of relationships burdened with mutual bafflement, hostility and pain. Every doctor is haunted by memories of difficult relationships with patients, of the decisions made, and the outcomes that followed. People whom, despite all of their patience, persistence, the best communication, diagnostic and reasoning skills, they haven't helped. People for whose unique suffering it seems medicine has nothing to offer. Dr. Peter Dorward explores the many ethical dilemmas that GPs must face every day, to explain why it is that despite vast resources, time, skill and dedication, medicine is so often destined to fail. His recollections include his worst failures and biggest challenges, ranging from the everyday, the tragic, the grotesque, the villainous and the humorous. The Human Kind presents a fresh understanding of the difficult relationship between doctor and patient, and the challenges which both must face.

Education in the responsible conduct of research typically takes the form of online instructions about rules, regulations, and policies. Research Ethics takes a novel approach and emphasizes the art of philosophical decision-making. Part A introduces egoism and explains that it is in the individual's own interest to avoid misconduct, fabrication of data, plagiarism and bias. Part B explains contractualism and covers issues of authorship, peer review and responsible use of statistics. Part C introduces moral rights as the basis of informed consent, the use of humans in research, mentoring, intellectual property and conflicts of interests. Part D uses two-level utilitarianism to explore the possibilities and limits of the experimental use of animals, duties to the environment and future generations, and the social responsibilities of researchers. This book brings a fresh perspective to research ethics and will engage the moral imaginations of graduate students in all disciplines.