Author's posts
Balancing care during COVID
I started this commentary when the initial COVID spike involving the mass hospitalization of unvaccinated individuals occurred, and non-COVID patients requiring hospitalization were turned away because no beds, especially in intensive care, were availa…
Is life more than breathing and a heartbeat?
A few months back, I read about a two-year-old child with a terminal cardiac condition who has spent her life in a hospital bed attached to multiple devices that maintained her survival. At the staff’s request, the institution’s ethics comm…
The FDA was wrong about Aduhelm
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) negated the recommendation of its expert panel and approved Aduhelm to treat Alzheimer’s dementia (AD), contending that the possible benefit trumped the lack of evidence of efficacy. The FDA was inexcusably in err…
A medical ethicist asks questions about CPAP
About a year ago, I was referred to a sleep clinic and was diagnosed with “very mild obstructive sleep apnoea” (OSA). A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device was recommended with a litany of disorders that would occur (heart dis…
I have strong reservations regarding medication advertising to the public
Recently, there have been several TV advertisements on cancer treatments that may extend life. They report survival data that can mislead cancer victims to the extent of possible longevity. Additionally, they present a false picture of how life can be …
The ethics of rationing care during COVID
I recently read an opinion by a physician regarding the decision as to which COVID patient would receive care and which would not when hospitals became too full to care for every patient. He suggested that no one need be denied care if some structural …
