MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'futility'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:43:33 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4414549&cid=t_271380_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F29%2Fan-interview-with-author-tim-farrington%2F This week I have the honor of interviewing Tim Farrington, the acclaimed novelist of Lizzie’s War, “The California Book of the Dead,” “Blues for Hannah,” as well as the New York Times Notable Book of 2002, “The Monk Downstairs.” Guess what? He’s one of us! And he articulates his journey through the hell of depression in a beautifully crafted memoir of sorts called “A Hell of Mercy: A Meditation on Depression and the Dark Night of the Soul.” Since that topic surfaces often on Beyond Blue, I thought I’d ask Tim to share his thoughts on both (depression and the dark night) with us. Hi Tim, and welcome! 1. Let me skip to the end (sorry, I like to eat dessert first), when you write “It is in surrender, in the embrace of ou... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4414549 Sat, 29 Jan 2011 11:40:25 +0100 4414549 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1750302&cid=t_271380_99_f&fid=35344&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzackarysholemberger.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Ffutile-slow-code.html I was involved in a slow code recently. (I won't say where, or when, or with whom.) They are slippery and repugnant. Rarely can any of the parties involved say with satisfaction or complete clarity when, or by whom, the slow code was suggested or agreed to. It is a substitute for an honest discussion of options with the patient and family, and it is a legal minefield.Remind me not to get involved in them again ... when I have a choice in the matter. (Source: Zackary Sholem Berger) Zackary Sholem Berger blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1750302 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 04:39:00 +0100 1750302 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1745985&cid=t_271380_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F08%2Ftime-to-defend-human-exceptionalism-in.html Many of the chances we see in society today, were gestated decades ago in professional journals and law review articles, which from what I have seen, tend to be pretty uniformly pushing society in one direction. Example: Today pulling feeding tubes from cognitively disabled patients is routine. I doubt this would have happened--because it was once unthinkable, but for the many professional journal articles written in the 1980s that promoted the policy.Case in point, a 2007 article in the Tulsa Law Review (no link, have copy) promoting Futile Care Theory: As readers of SHS know, I believe that medical futility is part of an overarching attempt to shift society's fundamental value away from being focused primarily on individual worth, to a more collectivist approach of the kind warned agains... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1745985 Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:15:00 +0100 1745985 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1717080&cid=t_271380_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F08%2Fgay-twist-on-medical-conscience-issue.html This is a new angle on the right of patients to demand treatment and when doctors can say no. This time it involves a religious objection to providing artificial insemination for a lesbian.The doctor believed it was immoral to help a homosexual get pregnant and refused to participate, but referred her to someone else for the services. The new doctor was not covered by health insurance. The woman in question sued the original doctor and the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that anti discrimination laws trump religious objections. From the story:The ruling, based on a state law prohibiting businesses from discriminating against customers because of their sexual orientation, comes three months after the court struck down California's ban on same-sex marriage. "This isn't just a win ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1717080 Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:30:00 +0100 1717080 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=536851&cid=t_271380_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomensbioethics.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Ftexas-futile-care-law.html There is a case going on in Texas right now dealing with the Texas Futile Care Law. The bill, signed in 1999 by then Governor George W. Bush, allows hospitals to end life-sustaining treatment to patients whose medical treatment is declared "medically futile." Read the entire law here: Texas Statutes Health & Safety Code, Chapter 166. Advance Directives (specifically Section 166.046)From the Washington Post: Since Dec. 28, baby Emilio Gonzales has spent his days in a pediatric intensive care unit, mostly asleep from the powerful drugs he is administered, and breathing with the help of a respirator. Children's Hospital here declared his case hopeless last month and gave his mother 10 days, as legally required, to find another facility to take the baby. That deadline, extended once alread... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=536851 Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:41:00 +0100 536851