5/25
Medical Ethics
Higher rates of chemical sedation among Black psychiatric patients points to inequities
Higher rates of chemical sedation among Black psychiatric patients points to inequities
Penn Medicine researchers also find that white patients are more likely to be chemically sedated in emergency departments at hospitals that treat high proportion Black patients, suggesting that hospital demographics can impact practice patterns.
Heart disease-protective diabetes drug is not used equitably
Heart disease-protective diabetes drug is not used equitably
The medication GLP-1 RA treats diabetes and is linked to positive outcomes for heart disease patients, yet a Penn Medicine study has found inequities in its use along racial, ethnic, and economic lines
Three Penn faculty named Hastings Center Fellows
Three Penn faculty named Hastings Center Fellows
Holly Fernandez Lynch, Quayshawn Spencer, and Connie Ulrich have been named Hastings Center Fellows for deepening public understanding of complex ethical issues in health, health care, science, and technology.
Improving diversity in cancer clinical trials
Improving diversity in cancer clinical trials
The Cancer Clinical Trials Community Ambassador Training Program at the Abramson Cancer Center was established in August 2021 to create spokespersons and resources to increase awareness and access to cancer clinical trials in the diverse Philadelphia communities.
Learning to listen in troubled times
Learning to listen in troubled times
The SNF Paideia Program and partners featured Ernesto Pujol and Aaron Levy, an artist and an interdisciplinary scholar who have transformed both what it means to listen and what the act of listening can achieve as part of a lecture and workshops.
More than a third of Congressional members held significant health care assets
More than a third of Congressional members held significant health care assets
Due to their role in shaping health care policy, lawmakers should divest from assets while in office, Penn Medicine researchers recommend.
100 years of insulin
100 years of insulin
On July 27, 1921, Canadian doctors Frederick Banting and Charles Best successfully isolated the hormone insulin, one of the most important breakthroughs in treating diabetes. Experts from around the University share their thoughts on the medical triumph on the 100th anniversary.
Project reveals ongoing unreported violations of rights with medical deportations
Project reveals ongoing unreported violations of rights with medical deportations
Researchers in the Legislative Clinic at Penn Law and Free Migration Project have released a new report on the use of medical deportations in the U.S.
Researchers study thought process behind revealing Alzheimer’s test results
Researchers study thought process behind revealing Alzheimer’s test results
Two qualitative studies try to understand individuals’ decision-making process as they choose whom, why and how to share information regarding their Alzheimer’s disease biomarker and genetic testing results.
The potential role of vaccine certificates in the next phase of the pandemic
The potential role of vaccine certificates in the next phase of the pandemic
Public health law expert Eric Feldman and medical ethicist Emily Largent discuss the legal and ethical implications of companies and organizations requiring proof of vaccination to reengage with different sectors of the economy.
In the News
Fast Company
Your doctor is moonlighting on TikTok as an influencer
Dominic Sisti of the Perelman School of Medicine said that, during the evolution of the internet in the 1990s, bioethicists were preoccupied by the Human Genome Project and overlooked the rise of social media and its impact on health care. “Social media was something that we as bioethicists just didn’t have our eyes on—and it’s coming back now to haunt us,” he said.
FULL STORY →
Bloomberg
Biogen Alzheimer’s drug coverage threatens minorities’ access
Holly Fernandez Lynch of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the obstacles preventing less-privileged people from participating in clinical trials. “You typically have to live near the trial site or have the resources to travel. You have to be able to take time away from work and your caregivers need to do the same. You have to have reliable transportation,” she said.
FULL STORY →
The Washington Post
The ethics of a second chance: Pig heart transplant recipient stabbed a man seven times years ago
Scott Halpern of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the importance of maintaining separation between legal and medical systems. “We have a legal system designed to determine just redress for crimes,” he said. “And we have a health-care system that aims to provide care without regard to people’s personal character or history.”
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Debate: Should we waive COVID-19 vaccine patents for low-income countries?
Harsha Thirumurthy of the Perelman School of Medicine argued that we should waive COVID-19 vaccine patents for low-income countries. “We simply can’t bring an end to the pandemic—here in the U.S. or elsewhere—without rapidly closing the global vaccine gap,” he wrote. “And we can’t close that gap without waivers of patent protections that are keeping lower-income countries from manufacturing vaccines themselves.”
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Philly vaccine pioneer: Was the human cost of doing fewer COVID-19 trials on kids worth it?
Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine wrote an opinion piece about the human cost of conducting child vaccine trials. While some may be concerned that the Pfizer trial was too small or too brief, Offit argued that a larger or longer trial would have resulted in more sick children in the placebo group, as occurred during the polio vaccine’s development.
FULL STORY →
Yahoo! News
Medical ethicists criticize doctors refusing to treat the unvaccinated
PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno commented on some doctors’ decisions to not treat unvaccinated adults with COVID-19, saying, “We have to find ways to take care of people, even if we don’t agree with their actions.”
FULL STORY →