Cyrus Ahalt, MPP, Rebecca Sudore, MD, Marielle Bolano, Lia Metzger, Anna M. Darby, MD, MPH, and Brie Williams, MD, MS
The teach-to-goal method should be used to assess comprehension of incarcerated patients and other vulnerable groups during the informed consent process.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(9):862-872. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.9.peer3-1709.
Dr Morgan C. Shields joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Zohra Kantawala and Dr Ramesh Raghavan: “Why Patient-Centered Built Environment Standards Matter More Than Numbers of Beds in Inpatient Psychiatry”
Specific advocate guidelines are needed for the protection of children in state custody who are potential research subjects in trials that would expose them to greater-than-minimal risk but also hold the prospect of direct benefit.
In “Ethics of International Research: What Does Responsiveness Mean?” Christine Grady explains how developing countries are vulnerable to exploitation by researchers and explores what “responsiveness” to the needs of those populations might entail.
In “Allocating Scare Resources in a Pandemic,” Martin Strosberg calls attention to the need for preparedness planning including methods for rationing vaccines, antiviral medications, and intensive care unit beds and staff.
Clinical trials for the blood substitute PolyHeme exposed the possibility for ambiguous interpretation of the FDA’s waiver of informed consent for emergency research.
Unclear regulations and informal data gathering on immigrants who receive or donate organs can cause mistrust and suspicion of the organ allocation system and affect donation rates.
The current Medicare operation—reimbursing medical goods and services to a growing number of people without basing the reimbursement benefit on the actual cost of the services—is unsustainable, but there are some possible remedies.