Rationing, patient preferences, and cost of care at the end of life.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to F H Lowy.
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Living organ donation should be recognized as an ethical compromise to the principle of nonmaleficence (doing no harm), given the risks healthy donors are allowed to assume. Living organ donation should be reserved for situations in which there is no acceptable alternative. Increasing the availability of cadaveric organs is most desirable, since it would decrease (although probably not eliminate) the need for living organ transplantation and would provide organs (ie, hearts) that could not otherwise be obtained. We propose the development of an incentive-based Advance-Directive Organ Registry, in which all adults are encouraged to register their advance directive regarding organ donations. Those individuals agreeing to permit usable organs to be taken at the time of death would receive priority for organs generated by the program, should a transplant become necessary when there is a shortage of organs. The proposed Advance-Directive Organ Registry is firmly founded on the principles of autonomy, beneficence, and justice.
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The objective of pharmacotherapy is to restore health or, at least, to limit illness and disability. Drug safety depends upon a strong, reliable chain from the basic science laboratory to the consumer. However, this chain is uneven in strength and the most unpredictable links involve the human factors which contribute substantially to adverse drug reactions. These include misprescribing by physicians, often because of educational deficiencies and sometimes because of the influence of manufacturers' promotional strategies, as well as noncompliance by consumers.
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We review various organ procurement strategies from ethical and practical perspectives to understand why these strategies have been relatively unsuccessful. We propose that the CMA recommend the implementation of a required-request policy in hospitals. We also propose a possible new approach in which people from the age of 18 years would voluntarily enrol in an organ donation program, agreeing to permit all usable organs to be taken for transplantation at the time of death. In return they would have priority for receiving organs made available by the program. We believe that this program would save lives, respect the donor's autonomy and satisfy the principles of justice and beneficence.
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There has been much criticism of the format and process of the certification examination in psychiatry, and some of this is based on lack of information regarding the history of the specialty certification procedures, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Board of Examiners. In this first of three reports the history of the Royal College as the certifying organization is traced, and the relevant College structures are briefly described, including the Specialty Committee on Psychiatry which is instrumental in appointing the clinical examiners. The clinical examiners since 1965 are identified.
No analysis of Canadian certification examinations in psychiatry has previously been published although analyses of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the British Membership examinations are available. Because candidates, directors of residency training, mental health planners and consumers are all interested in who passes and who fails the certification examinations, available examination data for English speaking candidates are analyzed. Successful candidates are more likely to be younger; to have attended medical schools in English speaking countries (in North America, the British Isles, or the "old Dominions"); to have placed in the upper two-thirds of their medical school class; to have entered psychiatric training soon after graduating from medical school and then to have completed their training without interruption. Some limitations of the examinations and the problem of candidates who fail are briefly discussed.
Although there has been much criticism of specialty certification examinations there is general agreement that they are an important safeguard of competence in medical specialties where the consumer cannot judge this. The Canadian Royal College has made strenuous attempts to improve certification techniques but these have not been heretofore widely reported. This paper reports on the rationale for the replacement of the essay examination by multiple choice questionnaires, the problems associated with MCQ, and the efforts made to improve the fairness, validity and reliability of the clinical (oral) examination. These efforts have been in the areas of selection of examiners, training for examiners, standardization of marking and the conduct of the examination. A description is given of the conduct of the examination and what the examiners look for in the candidate's performance. The development and increasing importance of the In-Training Evaluation are discussed. The publication of A Resident's Guide to Psychiatric Education with multinational participation advances the possibility of future reciprocity in psychiatric examinations conducted in several English speaking countries.
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Patients who suffer and complain of symptoms for which no adequate organic pathology is found present serious management problems. Patients who display somatization phenomena are discussed with respect to incidence, psychopathology and predisposing factors-social and cultural, early life experiences, personality characteristics and individual psychodynamics. Although primary prevention of somatization is not yet feasible, early recognition and treatment are possible. The role of the psychiatrist includes: formulation of diagnosis; assessment for therapy; planning of treatment; and, at times, becoming the primary therapist. The family physician has the best opportunity for early detection and prevention of chronicity of somatization phenomena. Pharmacotherapy, behavior modification and some newer approaches in the management of these persistent somatizers are discussed.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.