Tag: medical ethics
An Open Letter to Dr. Vinay Prasad
Please recognize that you are now influencing the national public health policy and understand that being in authority is a very different job than simply questioning authority
COVID-19 vaccines and the Nuremberg Code
Antivaxxers love to claim that vaccine mandates (especially COVID-19 vaccine mandates) violate the Nuremberg Code and call for Nuremberg-style tribunals to hold public health and vaccine advocates "accountable". As usual, they have no idea what they are talking about. This is also not a new antivax narrative, although what is unprecedented is that what was once fringe even among antivaxxers is now...
Italy’s Antivaccine Government – The Attack on Experts Continues
Anti-vaccine Italian government fires its entire Health Council. This is unfortunately part of a bigger trend against expertise and reality-based policy.
Chinese Researcher Reports First Gene-Edited Babies
A Chinese scientist announces first gene-edited babies, setting off a discussion of the science and ethics of using CRISPR on humans.
Integrative Medicine finally admits it’s attracting bad apples
Integrative medicine proponents finally acknowledge their field is attracting bad apples but fail to identify the real source of their problem: It's rejection of science-based medicine, not lack of training in integrative medicine.
The Primum non nocere principle in psychotherapy: A science based approach
Is the principle of primum non nocere, to do no harm, applied by psychotherapists?
The Ethics of Involuntary Pediatric Drug Testing
Although it may seem like a good idea, testing for recreational drug use on an adolescent patient without consent is ethically questionable, challenging to interpret, and unlikely to benefit patient or family.
Naturopathic Experiences: Remembrance of things past.
Interacting with patients who also get care from naturopaths: uncomfortable dilemmas.
Pharmacists Selling Snakeoil
Edzard Ernst published an excellent editorial today addressing the question of why pharmacists sell bogus products. Our own resident pharmacist, Scott Gavura, expressed similar points here on SBM a year ago. Their points are worth emphasizing and expanding upon. Professional ethics The explicit premise of both editorials is that pharmacists, like physicians, are health care professionals. Being a professional means adhering to...
Treating the Unvaccinated
Should vaccination status be used to triage care for critically ill patients during a crisis?