10/04/2008

Is there a way forward in clinical ethics today?

My readers, continue in my PhD research about challenges in Clinical ethics today, I am provoked to ask the following questions: Is there a way forward in clinical ethics today? What should we do? Let me suggest some ideas: We have to work to better understand the culture of hospitals and other health care facilities to see how that culture can be made more user-friendly and supportive of patient desires. Moreover, we also need systematic research related to healthcare costs surrounding end-of-life, and the promotion of uniform futility policies, hospital ethics committees and ethics case consultation. Lastly, we must probably go back and ask the question or engage into dialogue about the meaning and place of death in human life and of the proper stance for medicine to take toward death. Once answered and applied into clinical practice, a number of solutions will be visible from taking a different angle.