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Screening Older Physicians For Cognitive Impairment: Justifiable Or Discriminatory?, Ilene N. Moore
Screening Older Physicians For Cognitive Impairment: Justifiable Or Discriminatory?, Ilene N. Moore
Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine
In the U.S., one out of eight practicing physicians is older than sixty-five, and many practice well into their seventies. Many commentators and healthcare organizations, concerned that aging physicians are at risk for cognitive impairment, have urged, or actually instituted, cognitive "screening" for older physicians as a means to ensure patient safety. An age-based screening program, however, should not proceed unless supported by clear evidence and not prohibited by law. This article argues that neither of these conditions applies. Singling out all older physicians for cognitive testing is empirically unjustified and legally prohibited. Furthermore, there are other means to reliably …
Needles, Haystacks, And Next-Generation Genetic Sequencing, Teneille R. Brown
Needles, Haystacks, And Next-Generation Genetic Sequencing, Teneille R. Brown
Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine
Genetic testing is becoming more frequent and the results more complex. Not infrequently, genetic testing conducted for one purpose reveals information about other features of the genome that may be of clinical significance. These unintended findings have been referred to as "incidental" or "secondary" findings. In 2013, the American College of Medical Genetics ("ACMG") recommended that clinical laboratories inform people if their genetic analyses indicate that they have certain secondary mutations. These mutations were selected because they probably cause a serious disease, which is treatable, and may go undetected. The ACMG's recommendations galvanized critical responses by the genetics and ethics …