September 13, 2024
New Articles from BMC Medical Ethics Are Now Available
BMC Medical Ethics has new articles available online. Articles include:
Informed Consent
September 12, 2024
Apple Vision Pro’s Eye Tracking Exposed What People Type
(Wired) – The Vision Pro uses 3D avatars on calls and for streaming. These researchers used eye tracking to work out the passwords and PINs people typed with their avatars. You can tell a lot about someone from their eyes. … Read More
September 12, 2024
Adderall in Higher Doses May Raise Psychosis Risk, Study Says
(New York Times) – New research suggests that dosage plays a role in a rare side effect of A.D.H.D. stimulants. Psychosis and mania are each known side effects of stimulant medications, and the Food and Drug Administration has added warnings … Read More
September 11, 2024
The Chatbot Will See You Now
(New York Times) – About one in six adults — and about a quarter of adults younger than 30 — use chatbots to find medical advice and information at least once a month, according to a recent survey from KFF, … Read More
September 11, 2024
Why So Many Patients Are Confused About CPR and Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders
(STAT News) – A single question doesn’t give context, ask what’s most important to you to guide this decision, or share why we may recommend do-not-resuscitate (DNR) when CPR likely won’t work and cause further suffering. Popular shows like “Grey’s … Read More
September 11, 2024
“I Don’t Want to Die”: Needing Mental Health Care, He Got Trapped in His Insurer’s Ghost Network
(ProPublica) – Ravi didn’t know it, but he, like millions of Americans, was trapped in a “ghost network.” As some of those people have discovered, the providers listed in an insurer’s network have either retired or died. Many other providers … Read More
September 10, 2024
Doctors Give Black Women Unneeded C-Sections to Fill Operating Rooms, Study Suggests
(New York Times) – Healthy Black women with low risk factors were far more likely to get C-sections than white women with similar medical histories, a large new study found. Obstetricians are more likely to give Black women unnecessary cesarean … Read More
September 10, 2024
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Sparks Battle Over Pharmacy Copycats
(Axios) – A fightis brewing between drug giantsand pharmacy compounders that have seized on the consumer demand for blockbuster obesity drugs. Why it matters: The clash is testing the boundaries of Food and Drug Administration policy that allows pharmacies to … Read More
September 9, 2024
With TV Drug Ads, What You See Is Not Necessarily What You Get
(KFF Health News) – Such promotion was banned until 1997, when the FDA reluctantly allowed pharmaceutical ads on TV, so long as they gave an accurate accounting of a medicine’s true benefits and risks, including a list of potential side … Read More
September 9, 2024
Amazon Wants Your Palm and TSA Wants Your Face. What Saying Yes Will Mean.
(Wall Street Journal) – More companies and government agencies out in the wild want to read our body parts. The Transportation Security Administration, for example, started scanning passengers’ faces instead of checking IDs. These groups say the biometric processes are … Read More
September 9, 2024
Dye in Doritos Used in Experiment That, Like a ‘Magic Trick,’ Created See-Through Mice
(USA Today via Yahoo! News) – Doritos are a revered snack for many. Now, scientists have found one of the ingredients in the triangle-shaped tasty tortilla chips has a superpower – it can make the skin of mice transparent. (Read … Read More
September 9, 2024
Should You Be Weighed at Work? The New Midlife Health Checks
(The Telegraph via MSN) – Are you too busy to go to the doctor’s, or just don’t see it as a priority? As of next year, thousands of people will no longer have an excuse: the doctor’s will be coming … Read More
September 6, 2024
Quitting Xanax: One Writer’s Story
(Vogue) – We are an anxious nation, an anxious world. Look at the news and it is there for everyone to see. Some 16 percent of the US adult population takes medication for mental health (a figure measured pre-pandemic; one … Read More
September 6, 2024
A ‘Miracle Molecule’ Could Cut Fentanyl Deaths in Half — or Lead More into Addiction
(Politico) – America’s sky-high rate of fatal fentanyl overdoses could be halved if users were treated with another opioid, Biden administration officials and a bipartisan group of senators believe. They and others who support expanded access to methadone argue that … Read More
September 6, 2024
Therapy Sessions Exposed by Mental Health Care Firm’s Unsecured Database
(Wired) – Video and audio of therapy sessions, transcripts, and other patient records were accidentally exposed in a publicly accessible database operated by the virtual medical company Confidant Health. Thousands of people’s highly sensitive health details, including audio and video … Read More
September 6, 2024
Testosterone Clinics Sell Virility. Some Men End Up With Infertility.
(Wall Street Journal) – Prescriptions for testosterone cypionate, a generic form commonly sold by the clinics, have increased by eight times since 2010. When added to branded products, the total number of testosterone prescriptions is at a record high, according … Read More
September 5, 2024
Hospitals’ Legal Win Shows HIPAA’s Limits in Shielding Patient Data
(Axios) – A recent legal win by the hospital industry over its use of website tracking technology could leave patients’ data vulnerable to being shared with online marketers, data brokers, and social media platforms. Why it matters: The case highlights … Read More
September 5, 2024
An Agonizing Dilemma: When Obesity Prevents a Joint Replacement
(New York Times) – Many doctors say it is too dangerous to perform the common surgeries on people with high body mass indexes, but patients say they are facing discrimination. While the science of body mass index is frequently criticized, … Read More
September 5, 2024
Weight Loss Drugs Allegedly Landed This Woman in the Hospital, Prompting Lawsuit About Drug Label Warnings
(NBC News) – Millions of Americans have turned to prescription medications to lose weight and treat diabetes. But do drug labels warn enough about potential side effects? Juanita Gantt was prescribed both Wegovy and Ozempic. She later needed emergency surgery … Read More
September 5, 2024
Fake Ozempic: How Batch Numbers Help Criminal Groups Spread Dangerous Weight Loss Drugs
(Reuters) – The incident sheds light on a wider problem in the manufacturing of highly sought-after drugs, one that lets criminal organizations circulate potentially lethal fakes: forged drug batch numbers. Pharmaceutical companies, including Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk, authenticate batches of drugs … Read More
September 4, 2024
Pregnancy After Tubal Ligation May Be More Common Than Expected
(MedPage Today) – Information on contraceptive choices “particularly salient” in the wake of Dobbs Rates of pregnancy after tubal sterilization may be higher than previously expected, according to an analysis of national survey data. After having their “tubes tied,” 2.9% … Read More
September 4, 2024
Porn Generators, Cheating Tools, and ‘Expert’ Medical Advice: Inside OpenAI’s Marketplace for Custom Chatbots
(Gizmodo) – Last November, when OpenAI announced its plans for a marketplace where anyone could make and find bespoke versions of ChatGPT technology, the company said “The best GPTs will be invented by the community.” Nine months after the store … Read More
September 4, 2024
Florida Surgeon Mistakenly Removes Patient’s Liver Instead of Spleen, Causing Him to Die, Widow Says
(NBC News) – A Florida surgeon mistakenly removed a man’s liver instead of his spleen, causing him to die on the operating table, a lawyer for the man’s widow alleges. William Bryan, 70, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama,underwent surgery on Aug. … Read More
September 4, 2024
Dutch Regulator Slaps Clearview AI with $33 Million Fine and Threatens Executive Liability
(The Verge) – The Dutch Data Protection Authority is considering whether Clearview’s directors can be held personally responsible. Clearview AI has been hit with its largest fine yet under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by a Dutch regulator. The … Read More
September 3, 2024
NIH Cancels ‘Havana Syndrome’ Research, Citing Unethical Coercion of Participants
(CNN) – The National Institutes of Health said Friday that it is stopping its research of what’s commonly known as Havana syndrome, a mysterious illness experienced by a number of spies, soldiers and diplomats who have reported sudden debilitating symptoms … Read More
