Dr Andrew P. Smith joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article, coauthored with Dr Hasah Alheneidi: “The Internet and Loneliness.”

Dr Ariane Lewis discusses how we can navigate uncertainty and ambiguity about brain death by understanding clinical criteria for brain death determination and how our approaches to death are culturally and socially situated.

Dr Vish Viswanath talks about countering COVID-19 health misinformation spread over the internet and social media.

Dr Vish Viswanath talks about the digital spread of health misinformation and falsehoods during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Which distinctions between minimally conscious states and vegetative states should clinicians consider?

The diagnostic and clinical criteria for diagnosing persistent vegetative state.

The risks of misinformation being spread through online patient forums can be mitigated by communication strategies aimed at physicians and organizations.

As high-tech care decisions led to value clashes in hospital corridors, ethics committees developed to respond to diverse viewpoints, families’ concerns, and clinicians’ moral distress. They now exist in almost all US health care organizations.

Hospital ethics committees originated with concerns about legal liability, but today they educate, develop and implement policies, and review cases.

When confidential medical information can prevent a serious harm to a third party, the patient’s prima facie right to confidentiality must be balanced against the physician’s prima facie obligation to prevent serious harm to that third party.