MEDICINE AND LAW最新文献

The motivation to write this article was born out of a keynote lecture given by the author at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada for the "Trends in Forensic Sciences: CSI Windsor 2014" Conference on March 21, 2014. The thesis of the ensuing discussion, as the article's title implies, emphasizes how absolutely essential it is for a forensic expert to embody the highest standards of honesty and integrity when called upon to testify in a court of law. First principles are re-visited and discussed in order that the reader understands the necessity of being familiar with the basic rules that are applicable to expert testimony as well as the moral codes that support the doctrinal underpinnings. In addition, the passage of time is explored against a backdrop of scientific advances to help illustrate why the scientific community must remain alive to the possibility that what is seen as a present day given, may be shown not to be so in the foreseeable future. From both a scientific and a legal perspective, at a time when wrongful convictions are being uncovered with some regularity, the various issues surrounding the giving of expert evidence are considered under a much more focused and critical lens. Ultimately, recommendations are made to ensure that the ethicality of the expert witness remains intact, including methods to deter those whose own moral compass is simply not sufficient to stay the course. The tension that often arises between law and science is duly recognized, with compromises considered where appropriate. All comments found herein are solely those of the author made in his personal capacity.

The traditional Igbo moral education is a system of education that occurs in the context of the family and community, and taught to the child, at a very early age, through taboos, myths, riddles, jokes, proverbs, and through stories that often feature animals and birds. The traditional Igbo moral education emphasizes character formation, communal values -solidarity, relationships, and relational autonomy. Since the advent of the Western system of education, there has been a rush to adopt the Western method of moral education, thus, abandoning the traditional Igbo method. This repudiation along with other factors has resulted in the growing apathy to moral education and moral laxity in Igbo-land and in Nigeria in general. There is a need to recover and incorporate some sound aspects of our traditional moral values and moral education methods into the modem system of education in Igbo-land. This integration will aid in immensely ameliorating the current situation of moral decadence, and enrich the current quality of moral education.

A review of articles, carefully selected from several databases,was conducted for identifying research findings related to the professional considerations and ethical issues involved respecting the presence of the patient's family during resuscitation in adult intensive care units (ICU), the perspectives of the patients; family members and health care staff. Studies on family presence during resuscitation indicated that the majority of patients desire family members'presence during resuscitation. However, based on professional considerations, the healthcare staff held mixed, and sometimes opposite, opinions. Only a few hospitals had active family presence policies in place. While the majority of healthcare providers expressed their preference for a written policy allowing family presence during resuscitation as an option, the decision to establish a formal policy that offers this option is fraught with ethical issues. Consequently, nurses should promote a unit-specific policy on family presence in resuscitation, which takes into account the professional considerations, ethical issues, and the patients' cultural, social background and preferences. To ensure effective implementation of family presence, such a policy should include staff training, and a family facilitator to support and accompany the family during the patient's resuscitation.

The article stresses that the elderly probably do not need sophisticated health care because they probably suffer from known pathologies and are chronically ill. The elderly probably do need improvements in: 1. Law focused on respect for patients, including: Protection and promotion of personal autonomy and informed consent practice; adequate information; slowness and time to understand and decide. They also need effective legal representation and quick schemes for damage compensation. Other needs include: "ageing in place"; maintaining links with places, family and peers. 2. Law focused on access and on appropriate medical techniques, including: access; quality of care; trained professionals; long- term care instead of acute care; friendly modes of administration of medicines; friendly medical devices; information technology; medical research; and clinical trials. 3. Law focused on the sustainability of health care systems,including: social and technical innovation; promoting one's health through healthy lifestyles; and discussing the rationing of care.

The journey from illness to health may be fraught with unfavorable outcomes, inadvertent errors, or even medical malpractice. Indeed, alleged medical negligence or malpractice is emblematic of the underlying dissonance in what should otherwise be an ideal therapeutic relationship between physicians and patients. The increasing incidence of alleged medical negligence in the West and in the Muslim world has led physicians to fear the threat of litigation. Consequently, this results in defensive medicine, avoiding higher- risk medical and surgical specialties or procedures, and potentially adversarial patient-physician interactions. Medical schools have adopted white coat ceremonies as a symbolic attempt to inculcate students in the healing tradition and; along with the pledging of the Hippocratic Oath, to imbue them with a sense of compassion and duty towards the ill. Such endeavors should serve to motivate trainees and physicians to respond to suffering with continued empathy and effort rather than with suspicion and fear of an unfavorable outcome or alleged negligence. Objective: The purpose of this papers to offer a novel, complimentary approach to the white coat ceremony and the pledging of the Hippocratic Oath, by discerning the Islamic principles of Iman (faith) and Ihsan (a call to virtue) to define an appropriate healing relationship between physicians and patients. In order to introduce students to this tradition of healing, this alternative approach may be introduced, taught, and modeled for physicians-in training in their actual clinical practice. Philosophical Perspective: Since inception of the white coat ceremony in 1993, the Hippocratic perspective has been applied to inculcate a sense of compassion and duty to the ill. Along with recognition of the Human Condition or Fitra; the concept of Iman and Ihsan within the Muslim world should be applied by physicians-in-training to define their duty and their approach to future patients, themselves and their Creator. Such and approach demands a higher level calling than that outlined by the expected standards of Islamic law or Shari'a. Conclusion: Instilling Iman and Ihsan principles as and embedded component of medical treatment potentially should curtail medical malpractice exposure, simplify due process, and improve patients, physician healing relationships.

The objective in this exploratory study is to consider the demand for nursing related projects in the Ethics Committees registered on the website of the National Information System Commission about Ethics in Research Involving Human Beings (SISNEP) between 2003 and 2010. The data were collected in two phases: research projects approved in specific Ethics Committees of Nursing Schools/ Faculties registered for at least four years, and projects whose title contained the keywords Nurse and/or Nursing, approved in general Ethics Committees. In total, 2576 projects were approved in the six Committees analyzed.

The aims of this study are to present an argument that emphasizes the usefulness of an analysis framework for analyzing public health law and legal systems; identifying methods for improving the application of this framework, including its academic value for public health law; and enhancing the future use of the framework for supporting global health governance. To help formulate the initial analysis framework and tool, we have, along with expert consultations, conducted a literature review on global health governance and public health law. Meetings were also held with World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) technical staff members on the applicability and benefits of the framework and tool. Monitoring public health laws and legal systems of countries can be used to understand governance and improve people's health.

Study aim: To examine the incidence of sexual harassment of women staff by male hospital patients, and how experiencing it differs between doctors, nurses and nurse aides.

Methods: 434 women staff in three large Israeli hospitals completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire on (a) the frequency of sexual harassment by patients, (b) the emotional effect of a described instance of harassment, (c) what action respondents would take if confronted by the same incident.

Results: Sexual harassment by male patients is common, ranges from mild innuendo to threats of rape, and creates great emotional distress. The younger the staff the more the harassment. Women doctors-the youngest staff group-were beset more than nurses and nurse aides and voiced the most negative emotional and behavioral reactions.

The subject of euthanasia has generated many controversial debates, particularly on its legality. This has been primarily due to the doctrine of sanctity of life which is a predominant principle in many religions and is embedded in moral values. The underlying precept is that human life is sacred and demands respect, as all life comes from God and life can only be taken away intentionally through due process of law. Thus, ending a person's life, even upon his or her request, is considered in many jurisdictions as a criminal offence. Irrespective of humanitarian motives, a doctor who aids a patient in this act will be in breach of his unequivocal duty as a doctor and considered to have committed an unlawful act, which will subject him to legal sanctions. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey have explicit legal provisions banning, in particular, active euthanasia, while countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and certain states in the U.S have taken positive steps to legalise euthanasia in certain aspects. The ethical codes and laws in Malaysia have yet to develop to the fullest extent in dealing with these issues. Although Malaysian statutory legislation contains provisions banning active euthanasia, the legal position on passive euthanasia remains implicit. In the absence of indicative legal provisions and judicial precedents governing certain matters arising, it has been the practice of the Malaysian courts to refer to relevant legal principles inherent in English cases. As Islam is proclaimed as the country's official religion, the Islamic perspective is also an important and influential factor in the development of the legal framework in Malaysia as a whole. Thus, there is a need for the existence of a clear and comprehensive regulatory framework governing the legality of euthanasia in Malaysia.

The diagnosis of brain death has generated numerous medical, legal, social and ethical controversies. The recent highly publicized case of Jahi McMath, a 13-year-old who was declared brain dead and transferred to a long-term care facility, illustrates these issues and raises new challenges and questions about the management of brain dead patients.