There is more than ample evidence that Hans Reiter, whose name has been eponymously linked to a rheumatologic syndrome, was a Nazi war criminal. He was responsible for heinous atrocities that violated the precepts of humanity, ethics, and professionalism. The authors suggest that Reiter's legacy is sufficiently tainted that the ...

It is widely recognized that, in the context of the evaluation of medical interventions, randomized clinical trials constitute the gold standard. This is because randomization tends to balance both measured and unmeasured baseline characteristics, allows for masking, and provides a basis for inference. It is understandable, then, that investigators would ...

The relevance of the Aristotelian concept of phronesis--practical wisdom--for medicine and medical ethics has been much debated during the last two decades. This paper attempts to show how Aristotle's practical philosophy was of central importance to Hans-Georg Gadamer and to the development of his philosophical hermeneutics, and how, accordingly, the ...

"Persistent vegetative state" (PVS) describes brain-damaged patients who survive their injuries in a sleeplike, insensible state, with periodic awakenings. Due to technological advances, such individuals can sustain biological existence for prolonged periods of time. Their existence results in a dichotomy between the legal and medical interpretations of persistent vegetative states, ...

A developmentally disabled person should be treated at all times as a unique individual and not as some anonymous "disabled person." The developmentally disabled should not be subjected to invasive medical treatment that is unduly burdensome or nonbeneficial, or be forced to endure a quality of life not meaningful to ...

Silicofluorides, widely used in water fluoridation, are unlicensed medicinal substances, administered to large populations without informed consent or supervision by a qualified medical practitioner. Fluoridation fails the test of reliability and specificity, and, lacking toxicity testing of silicofluorides, constitutes unlawful medical research. It is banned in most of Europe; European ...

Old, wise Socrates (SO) is strolling along the Agora to buy some fruit for his wife Xanthippe. He meets Paidagogos (PA),a teacher of medical ethics in the ancient Polis of Athens. Both engage in a discussion on teachers' responsibility and its implications for the design and structure of learning sessions ...

In this paper, by examining the idea of a 'Hippocratic Oath for scientists', promoted by Sir Joseph Rotblat, oaths for medical professionals and scientists and the definitions and relationships of different moral norms such as oaths, codes and guidelines, we propose an oath for bioscientists with justifications based on professional ...

The author has been the chairman of the Ethics Committee of Soroka Medical Center in Beer-Sheva since its inception in January 1998. This paper describes the work of the Committee and provides several cases for illustration. The majority of the cases involve physicians' petitions to proceed with treatment against the ...

Any medical decision generates consequences for the patient and for society. Medical practice should, therefore, be performed under the guidance of the following ethical principles: beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, justice, integrity, dignity, and vulnerability. The overarching objective of clinical research is to develop knowledge to improve health, and the subjects who ...

Because the "placebo effect" seems to result from "deception," it is often disparaged and despised. Rethinking this and realizing that these benefits flow largely from the meaning of medical encounters (and are far better understood as "meaning responses"); realizing that there need be no deception to elicit them and that ...

The rapidly accumulating evidence that personal spirituality has important influences on health care outcomes is somewhat difficult to integrate into daily medical practice, in part because accepting it requires adjustments to the standard biomedical worldview, and in part because it challenges established boundaries between chaplaincy and evidence-based medicine. We propose ...

Part 1 of this essay argues that in Augustan and Georgian England it was widely understood that madness could have two more-or-less distinct meanings. 'Moral' madness was the subject's own fault, and he/she remained accountable for actions commissioned under its effects. The delusional ideas arose in the mind, and by ...

All medical specialists struggle with problems that cannot be solved with medical knowledge alone. The field of gynecology is not unique in medicine for the presence of ethical dilemmas, but the nature of the dilemmas are unique. Gynecologists commonly confront complex ethical questions in their practices that can be answered ...

This paper argues for a normative conception of medical professionalism based on the work of sociologist Talcott Parsons. Such a conception grounds medical professionalism on the expert authority of the physician; the concept of authority is therefore discussed at length. Parsons view also lays much stress on the fact that ...

How to place medical ethics more firmly into medical practice continues to be a central concern of physician training and practice. One strategy is to make medical ethics an explicit focus of attention in the medical record. A separate section of the medical chart, one integral to clinical evaluations and ...

This paper reviews the changing role of the ethical value of autonomy in law and policy relating to AIDS in a number of European jurisdictions. In the early years of the epidemic the autonomy of infected and at-risk persons, and of social groups was promoted as a means of reducing ...

A medical statistician's routine professional activities are likely to have important ethical consequences. This is due in part to the fact that good medical practice and scientifically valid medical research both require as precursors high quality statistical design and data analysis. In this paper I discuss various ethical issues that ...

This article addresses the special features of data mining with medical data. Researchers in other fields may not be aware of the particular constraints and difficulties of the privacy-sensitive, heterogeneous, but voluminous data of medicine. Ethical and legal aspects of medical data mining are discussed, including data ownership, fear of ...

The promise of medical innovation has long evoked social commentary, particularly when personal reproductive autonomy may be involved. Development of the oral contraceptive, effective and safe surgical sterilization, and later IVF and ICSI are among the revolutionary developments where the initial reactions were dubious but were accorded mainstream status with ...

A surgeon in Scotland has amputated the legs of two consenting, physically healthy patients. Although a handful of medical professionals believe that the desire for healthy limb amputation is symptomatic of a mental disorder that can be treated only by amputation, there is currently no consensus on what causes a ...

The unforseen consequences of unconsented clinical photography when images are required for publication is an issue that affects medical practitioners and clinical photographers. This paper discusses, a scenario based on a typical event, the nature of informed consent and its relationship to ethical theory and the development of codes of ...

BACKGROUND: The second half of the 20th century saw not only important developments in medical science and technology, but also a rapid growth in the application of biomedical ethics in medical decision making. Withdrawal of treatment, allowing to die, informed consent, and patient autonomy are concerns that now comprise a ...

This article has attempted to outline some of the important ethical issues faced by the psychiatrist in the forensic role. Much of forensic psychiatry is practiced by general psychiatrists without specific forensic training who must thereby familiarize themselves with the problem areas likely to be encountered in this work. They ...

People who discuss medical ethics or bioethics come to very different conclusions about the levels of agreement in the field and the implications of consensus among health care professionals. In this paper I argue that these disagreements turn on a confusion of two distinct senses of medical ethics. I differentiate ...

This article reflects the experiences the commander and the chief medical officer of the course made. Creating an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding helped to made participants at ease to discuss difficult issues openly. They learned that the most important problem for the participants was the issue of obeying ...

Patients have not been entirely ignored in medical ethics. There has been a shift from the general presumption that 'doctor knows best' to a heightened respect for patient autonomy. Medical ethics remains one-sided, however. It tends (incorrectly) to interpret patient autonomy as mere participation in decisions, rather than a willingness ...

In 1930, the large-scale introduction of the BCG vaccination in the city of Lübeck in northern Germany led to a major scandal that focused public attention on medical experimentation with human beings as well as reviving criticism of the medical profession that had been voiced before. The trial following the ...

Global medical ethics on the basis of the General Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations is a key subject for the 21st century. World Health Organization's new definition of health includes "spiritual health," a term that has to be defined in international consensus despite different anthropologies, cultures, and ...

A realistic approach to humanitarian principles in the field of the Law of Armed Conflict should take into account "military necessity." Does military necessity also play a role in the medical field? The provisions regarding the treatment of the wounded and sick seem definite because they are at the core ...

There is an emerging awareness of the possibility of conflicts of interest in the practice of medicine in Croatia. The paper examines areas within the medical profession where conflicts of interest can and have occurred, probably not only in Croatia. Particularly addressed are situations when a doctor may have dual ...

The various statements and declarations of the World Medical Association that address conflicts of interest on the part of physicians as (1) researchers, and (2) practitioners, are examined, with particular reference to the October 2000 revision of the Declaration of Helsinki. Recent contributions to the literature, notably on conflicts of ...

In the recent medical ethics literature, several authors have recommended terminal sedation and refusal of hydration and nutrition as important, morally acceptable, and relatively uncontroversial treatment options for end-of-life suffering. However, not all authors use these terms to refer to the same practices. This paper examines the various ways that ...

1. Collaboration between industry and academia is becoming increasingly prevalent and successful in Australia. 2. To encourage and foster these relationships while preventing excesses, Australia needs to act now to create ethical, legal and legislative frameworks for collaboration. 3. As the United States has progressed further than Australia in fostering ...

The Canadian Medical Association's (CMA) Code of Ethics applies to all physicians, residents, and medical students in Canada. Learning about the code must be a part of every physician's education, and keeping current with it must be a part of every physician's continuing medical education. This article, based on a ...

Recent changes in the law and in patients' expectations have necessitated alterations to the way doctors maintain the medical confidentiality of their patients. This paper investigates the ethical and legal aspects of medical confidentiality in general, examines their relation to the military context and analyses the guidance offered. Military personnel ...

As we die, our respiratory pattern is altered and we seem to gasp and struggle for each breath. Such gasping is commonly seen as a clear sign of dyspnoea and suffering by families and loved ones, however, it is unclear whether it is perceived at all by the dying person. ...

Last year the ICRP proposed a new system of radiation protection designed to be simpler, more oriented toward individual protection and reflective of important ethical standards. This article argues that the proposal violates important norms of scientific simplicity, is in fact less protective of individuals than the current system and ...

Bioethics is dominated by an emphasis on rule making and quandary solving. Teaching and research in ethics often focuses upon dramatic, controversial issues at the margins of life and death. Much less attention is given to the relationship between moral reflection and the ethos of place. Medical facilities, however, are ...

Hysteria, as it involves the medical profession, is a form of sickness that is defined as being without disease or illness. This lack of a biomedical explanation has limited progress in its understanding. In this essay we propose that hysteria might be better thought of as a form of pretending, ...

Transition to retirement is a necessary step for all physicians because of the physical and emotional changes that occur with the aging process, the physician's ethical responsibilities to patients, and at times, because there is a desire to pursue different goals. It is important to begin to plan for this ...

The physiatrist, owing to expertise in impairment and disability analysis, is able to offer the medicolegal process considerable assistance. This chapter describes the scope and process of the independent medical examination (IME) and provides an overview of its component parts. Practical guidelines are provided for performing a physiatric IME of ...

Classical ballet is a demanding professional occupation, with participants who are often underserved in terms of accurate diagnosis and appropriate comprehensive medical care. The view that follows is designed to be as global and insightful as published to date. Specific rehabilitation considerations, dance mechanics, idiosyncratic differential diagnosis, and personality and ...

This article explores the impact of the Nuremberg Code on post-Second World War research ethics in Britain. Against the background of the Nuremberg Medical Trial, the Code received international endorsement, but how much did its ethical percepts influence actual research? This paper shows that, despite British involvement in the formulation ...

Intensive medical care for neonates may present medically complex and ethically challenging issues affecting not only patients but also their families and the professionals caring for them. The consulting neurologist working with these infants and their families is frequently a key figure in determining diagnoses and prognoses. This places the ...

Part I of this seminar in ethics reviewed the participation of German physicians and the German medical establishment in carrying out Nazi policies and listed eight moral failures that could be attributed to doctors during the dark period of history known as the Holocaust. The collective acts that occurred during ...

Health-care professionals are accustomed to struggling with ethical considerations brought about by advances in the medical sciences. How aware are these professionals of the ethical dilemmas created by advances in the management sciences? Deeply embedded in organizational and departmental changes are theories, paradigms, and philosophies that often are understood poorly ...

Conceptually, entrepreneurship is seen as the engine that drives a robust economy, promotes a favorable quality of life, and assures the availability of the attributes needed for meaningful living. However, like many popular concepts in this world, its limitations are normally not well acknowledged. A grouping of entrepreneurial ventures which ...

This paper provides a short account of the South African Defence Force's chemical and biological warfare programme during apartheid, specifically during the period 1980 to 1994. It examines the circumstances of recruitment of the scientists and physicians and their retention in the programme; details the 'scientific efforts' of the programme ...

This paper contributes to the understanding of Ottoman medical guilds, their relationship with the government, and the role played by medical ethics in this framework. Decrees by the sultans (sing. fermăn), issued in the Ottoman Imperial Council (Divăn) in Istanbul during the sixteenth century, concern themselves also with medical and ...