MEDICINE AND LAW最新文献

As part of the overall educational effort to humanize medicine, some medical schools in Colombia have reformed their curriculum in recent years, which has included in most cases the introduction of the subject of Clinical Bioethics. Main objectives: To analyze, through a critical approach, the inclusion of this subject and the way in which it has been conceptually and methodically appropriated. An observational qualitative analysis, using institutional plans that study ten of the most prestigious Colombian universities as a source, was performed and supplemented by surveys, and focus groups. Finding and conclusions: Although there is no clear understanding of the scope of bioethics, teachers and students recognize the importance of the subject. There is still no significant progress in the integration of ethics formation with clinical areas, and it is still being seen as an additional knowledge that is not part of the medical science. Students still witness a discrepancy between this normative discourse and medicine practiced by their professors and other physicians.

Background: Being a role model for the people they serve, and within the framework of their managerial duties at their work places, healthcare professionals are expected to carry leadership qualities that need to be emphasized during their professional education. Within the scope of this study, we have examined several researches about the importance of leadership in the field of healthcare. With the spread of globalization and the increase in competition, leadership approaches started to change. These approaches play an important role in healthcare services. Recent studies indicate that ethical leadership has become a popular subject. The assumption that all healthcare professionals, whether in management position or not, should provide their services without forgetting that they are leaders, would make more sense, were these leadership features integrated with ethical principles. Hence, it is necessary to ensure that these professionals are aware of their "Ethical leadership" requirements from their early education stages throughout their work life.

According to the patient autonomy principle, competent patients should be given the opportunity to choose their treatments, or refuse unwanted ones. The implications of refusing or requesting treatments differ, in both legal and moral terms. Complying with this principle may exemplify challenging issues and some confusion relating to the decision-making processes associated with "End-of-Life" issues. Over the past few decades, health professionals and ethicists have become aware of the confusion caused by the failure to distinguish between the obligation of heal-care professional to respond to the patients' requests for treatment or their refusal to be treated, especially those relating to the "End-of-Life," including Euthanasia DNR {Do Not Resuscitate), and AND (Allowing Natural Death). This confusion is due to the misinterpretation of the terms. With regard to patients' preference to end their lives without suffering, and the use of the terms, such as end-of-life decisions or choices, which may be refusals of, or requests for treatment. This can be understood as the patient's right to choose or reject one or more end-of-life options presented by the physician. However, the issue of physician compliance with the patients' requests to end their lives is not even considered. This paper aims to clarify the meanings and differences between these "End-of-Life" options and the disputes around them. The patient's part ad the nursing professional's important role in honoring these options are elucidated.

Life and death decisions have always been part of the medical profession. Modem discussions on resource allocation in health care deal with such critical situations, and seek ethical solutions that will benefit individuals and society as well as conserve scarce resources. Deontological ethics and utilitarianism are opposing ethical views, each with its own theory on solving moral dilemmas. Utilitarian logic aims at maximizing the benefit for the greatest number of people, while deontological theories strive to uphold pervasive moral principles. Jewish thought has always confronted the toughest of human predicaments head-on. As we review part of the Jewish discourse on distributive justice throughout the ages, we will show its relevance to modem discussions on medical resource allocation. As in modem secular ethics, Jewish thought juxtaposes the two aforementioned philosophical viewpoints, and constantly attempts to reconcile them. Extracting from each theory its strengths, the ethical conclusions reached in Jewish religious texts are relevant to issues of resource allocation throughout the ages.

Despite Nigeria's ratification of virtually all human rights instruments recognizing health as a human right and endorsement of the Millennium Declaration, the state of maternal health in the country remains atrocious. That the country is not on pace to meet its obligations under Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 (to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by three quarters in 2015, using 1990 as a base year, and achieve univeral access to reproductive services) is no longer news. What is perhaps newsworthy and that is because of their significance to repositioning the country on course toward the MDG, are three concers, namely, the factors constratining progress to acceptable maternal health in the country; the interventions needed to reverse the status quo; and, finally, the question, thether and how human rights could play a catalytic role in the process. Addressing these concerns is the major objective of this paper.

In contrast to its usage in the English speaking world, which refers to 'migrant workers' as workers from other, usually less-developed countries, migrant workers in China semantically refers to individuals who are rural residents, previously residing in the countryside and engaging in agriculture who subsequently migrate to urban areas, to engage in manual labor due to higher wages, among other reasons. As a vulnerable group, migrant workers are substantially troubled by occupational diseases, with several significant underlying hallmarks. From a legal perspective, the system is ineffective in protecting and implementing these migrant workers' occupational health rights, including household law, occupational diseases prevention law, public health supervision law and education law. This article argues in favor of legislative change to eliminate discrimination against migrant workers and to safeguard their health rights. There needs to be reasonable resource allocation in public health law and changes in the elements associated with, or directly resulting in, inequalities in admission to higher education for rural residents by also amending education law.

Due to the aging of society, the number of people who will likely need medical intervention at a time when they will be incapable of making decisions has been increasing, especially within neurodegenerative diseases. Individuals, more and more enlightened and aware, try to state in anticipation their will concerning future health care. They do it for several reasons, chief among them religious issues and the concern not to lose their quality of life. The patient's decision grows in importance insofar as the limits of present consent are surpassed and one accepts that the will previous- ly expressed by the patient is the best reference for the therapeutic decision. One must thus examine the Advance Health Care Directive and the health care attorney through a review combining the ethical, clinical and legal dimensions.

The relationship between public interest and privacy is complex, particularly in healthcare. If public interest overrides the right to privacy, medical staff may be forced to break confidentiality beyond what is permitted by law. Should politicians be excluded from the definition of "patients" when confidentiality is concerned? Should that "exclusion" be broadened to include judges and other public figures, for example, leaders of industry? Would it not be reasonable to entrust a medical team, who may assess their health state and inform the public of their assessment without divulging private medical data? Nothing will prevent any person from revealing their own medical state to the public; nonetheless, it should be at their discretion. Once a person dies, his right to privacy of health information should be with his heirs. Voyeurism should not be elevated to become a tool for legalising violations of health confidentiality.

Today, in Japan, education in medical ethics is urgent for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for doctors, nurses, and medical staffs; however, each institution and hospital determines its own method of ethics training, and a comprehensive and consistent system has not been established yet. This study discusses the nature of the theory and practice employed by the author, as a practitioner, an educator, and a researcher of medical ethics, in providing ethics training in medical institutions and hospitals since 2005. The method, which is based on theory and practice, is characterized by a spatiotemporal perspective, that is, it considers the medical space where the patients are diagnosed and treated (space) and every stage in the patient's lifecycle (time). Therefore, medical ethics training should consist of: 1) understanding concepts and theories essential to medical ethics, 2) fostering stakeholders' ability to examine ethical issues from a spatiotemporal perspective, and; 3) improving the skills of those responsible for resolving ethical issues.

Children having cerebral palsy will incur life-long disabilities, which require high costs of medical and nursing care. This imposes a tremendous burden on the families of the affected children, whether financially or emotionally. It is understandable for the affected families to initiate court litigation in order to alleviate the financial burden and at the same time to overcome the emotional pain associated with the permanent and lifetime implications which cerebral palsy entails. However, suing for such injuries in court and identification of medical malpractice is not an easy task for the families. Further, court litigation tends to be tedious, lengthy and unpleasant. The hazards of litigation have prompted several countries to find an available alternative to court litigation, such as the implementation of a no-fault compensation system, to settle these types of claims. Thus, it is much applauded that the Japan Obstetric Compensation System for Cerebral Palsy was established in January 2009, with the aim of helping children with such disabilities to improve their quality of life and to provide monetary compensation in order to lessen the economic burden on the family. The system features two vital pillars; that is, compensation and causal analysis prevention. The system aims at improving the quality of maternity care and analyzing the causes of accidents in order to prevent similar cases from happening in the future. Overall, the system clearly depicts social solidarity in encouraging collective responsibility for the mishaps suffered by the community.