Each chapter includes an ethical challenge presented as a clinical case scenario that readers may relate to in their daily practice of anesthesiology and surgery. The ethical issues surrounding each chapter’s content are examined in an easily understandable manner for the specific target audience to improve the understanding and management of ethical dilemmas in patient care. ​Informed consent issues for the adult and pediatric patient, perioperative considerations of do-not-resuscitate orders, ethical issues of drug shortages, transplantation ethics, surgical care of patients and futility, conscientious objection, informed consent and disclosure of surgeon experience, and research and publication ethics are included and based on the experience of the Editor and the roster of contributors.

Ethical issues facing anesthesiologists are more far-reaching than those involving virtually any other medical specialty. In this clinical ethics textbook, authors from across the USA, Canada and Europe draw on ethical principles and practical knowledge to provide a realistic understanding of ethical anesthetic practice. The result is a compilation of expert opinion and international perspectives from clinical leaders in anesthesiology. Building on real-life, case-based problems, each chapter is clinically focused and addresses both practical and theoretical issues. Topics include general operating room care, pediatric and obstetrical patient care, the intensive care unit, pain practice, research and publication, as well as discussions of lethal injection, disclosure of errors, expert witness testimony, triage in disaster and conflicts of interest with industry. An important reference tool for any anesthesiologist, whether clinical or research-oriented, this book is especially valuable for physicians involved in teaching residents and students about the ethical aspects of anesthesia practice.

A one-stop reference for all medical professionals who encounter ethicolegal problems during their management of patients.

Over the last quarter of a century, the fields of medical ethics and of legal issues related to medical practice have rapidly developed for a number of reasons. Firstly, the provision of healthcare nowadays is based on a complicated partnership between healthcare providers, patients, administrators and organizations responsible for providing finance; this complicated partnership frequently results in clashes of views, opinions, and priorities, which have a major ethical and legal dimension. Secondly, a major event of the 21st century is the development of multicultural societies; healthcare-related decisions thus have to be made on the background of so many different ethnicities, religions, cultures and languages, resulting in a great spectrum of ethical and legal implications. Thirdly, in the modern world, people are more mobile and can easily and cost-effectively seek treatment outside of their country of origin or residence, which raises many ethical and legal issues. Lastly, the development of new medical specialties, modern and advanced treatments for very challenging patients, and the introduction of new technologies in medical practice have dramatically broadened the spectrum of ethical and legal issues related to medical practice. This book will therefore aim to cover in detail general principles and specific issues related to the ethical and legal dimensions of modern surgical practice.

In this issue of Anesthesiology Clinics, guest editors Drs. Neal H. Cohen and Gail van Norman bring their considerable expertise to the topic of Ethical Approaches to the Practice of Anesthesiology - Part 1: Overview of Ethics in Clinical Care: History and Evolution. In this first of a two-part series, top experts discuss topics such as the role of advance directives and living wills on anesthesia practice; preoperative care of the patient with DNR orders; end-of-life care: withdrawing/withholding support; brain death: medical, ethical, cultural, legal aspects; ethics consult in anesthesia practice; and more. Contains 14 relevant, practice-oriented topics including maternal-fetal conflicts in anesthesia practice; ethical care of pregnant patients for non-obstetrical surgery and during labor and delivery; caring for the patients whose personal/religious/cultural beliefs impact clinical management strategies; approaching the patient when a medical error occurs; and more. Provides in-depth clinical reviews on ethical approaches to the practice of anesthesiology, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

According to popular belief, technical skill is far more important for surgeons than thoughtful deliberation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although surgeons must sometimes make decisions rapidly on the basis of incomplete evidence and must respond to unexpected catastrophes in the operating room rapidly, those events are intermittent - most of the time surgeons deliberate on diagnostic problems and thoughtfully manage postoperative care, which is often intellectually challenging. The relationship of surgeons with their patients is, in a real sense, far more intimate and trusting than that of any other professional, a claim that is supported by the fact that patients surrender their bodies to their surgeons in a state of total helplessness and vulnerability when they undergo anesthesia. Because of that responsibility, no other professional group has a greater sense of dedication to the welfare of their patients than surgeons. Surgical culture is deeply steeped in ethics, and surgeons confront and resolve ethical dilemmas as much or more than most other professionals, although they often may not recognize the situations they resolve are problems in ethics - they are just part of the daily routine. This book is a compendium of articles from the recent surgical literature that address ethical issues chosen by surgeons because they are controversial and pertinent to the practice of surgery. The reader will not find a great deal of sophisticated dissection of fine philosophical distinctions in these discussions of ethical conflicts and controversies in surgery. Instead, they will discover differing viewpoints from thoughtful essayists, mostly surgeons, whose feet are firmly in contact with the ground and who have extensive experience in the real world of surgery, medicine, and law.

Ethical Issues in Anaesthesia focuses upon ethical issues which are specific to anaesthetic practice and which affect individual anaesthetics. In this respect it is a unique contribution to the fields of both anaesthetics and health care ethics.