The Center and Healthcare Reform
The State of Aging and End of Life
Health Talk
KMBZ Radio
November 21, 2009
53 minutes 51 seconds
The task of making our medical wishes known during a serious illness or at the end of life is much more complicated now that it’s part of a political debate. John Carney, Vice President of Aging and End of Life at the Center for Practical Bioethics, explains in this edition of Health Talk on KMBZ Radio, Kansas City.
Faith conversations on health care reform
Tarris Rosell, Ph.D. D.Min
Kansas City Star – Midwest Voices
August 31, 2009
I’m an ethicist. I deal with matters of right and wrong, good and bad. I don’t always know what’s right, much less how to fix what’s wrong. But 47 million Americans without health insurance – I’m pretty sure that this is a case of Wrong.
The elderly and disabled would be protected
John Carney
Kansas City Star
August 23, 2009
Stop with all the kill-granny stuff. It’s bogus. If you want to argue over how we pay for all this, go ahead. But leave my elderly friends, my advanced disease friends and my dying friends alone.
Clergy, community leaders say the health debate has been marred by misinformation
Kansas City Star
August 20, 2009
Reform critics are frightening the elderly with false claims that reform proposals in Congress would limit end of life care, said Myra Christopher, president of the Center for Practical Bioethics.
Health Care Reform Supporters Slam 'Fear Mongering'
WDAF-TV 4
August 19, 2009
"There are others who, for political purposes, are trying to engage in fear mongering and demagoguery," said Myra Christopher of the Center for Practical Bioethics. "And they are frightening frail elderly and sick people."
False Information Muddles Health Debate
KCUR Radio
August 20, 2009
Myra Christopher, from the Center for Practical Bioethics, spoke at a news conference yesterday at Swope Health Services. "I've been heart-broken," she said. "I've also been quite angry, frankly, at the lies and mischaracterizations of what is contained in the various legislative reform efforts."
Faith Leaders Ask For Civil Discourse On Health Care
KMBC-TV 9
August 19, 2009
From his office inside the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, the Rev. Adam Hamilton listened to the president imploring faith leaders on health care. "I'm not sure what's before Congress right now is right -- I just know we need to be talking about it," Hamilton said.
End-of-Life Counseling Controversial Part of Health Care Reform
Meryl Lin McKean
WDAF-TV 4
August 17, 2009
Muddying the debate are claims by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and others about the legislation creating death panels and patients being coerced into accepting minimal care or even euthanasia.
"It's a story that has no basis in fact and it saddens me and it saddens a lot of people who spent many, many years working on this," said John Carney, vice president for aging and end of life at the Center for Practical Bioethics.
Healthy question: What’s all the shouting really about?
Alan Bavley and Dave Helling
Kansas City Star
August 15, 2009
The angry turn in the debate “breaks my heart,” said Myra Christopher, who for a quarter century has been crusading for better end-of-life care.
As president of the Kansas City-based Center for Practical Bioethics, Christopher has been encouraging people to sign living wills and let doctors and family know what treatments they want or don’t want during their final days.
Note: this article appeared in other newspapers across the country associated with the McClatchey News Service.
Panelists emphasize push for U.S. health reform
Julius A. Karash
Kansas City Star
March 13, 2009
Myra Christopher, president of the Kansas City-based Center for Practical Bioethics, said medical care at the end of life consumes 10 percent to 12 percent of the national health-care budget, along with 27 percent of Medicare spending. It is a trend that will intensify if left unchecked, she said.
“The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) estimates that by 2030 the Medicare population will double to 72 million people,” Christopher said. “You do the math. It is my opinion that we absolutely must have national health-care reform.”
Pain Management
Up to Date
KCUR Radio
November 10, 2009
Steve Kraske talks with Dr. Ann Karty of the American Academy of Family Physicians and Myra Christopher, president and CEO of the Center for Practical Bioethics about why pain is under-treated, what's being done to promote better pain management, and what treatments are currently available to help alleviate pain.
Difficult decisions
Salina Journal
October 25, 2009
Starting in 2011, an additional 10,000 Americans will be added to Medicare every day, says John Carney, vice president at the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City.
"None of us can afford this," Carney says. "We have to get smarter as we move ahead."
Exploring the medical-genetic frontier
Rick Hellman
Kansas City Jewish Chronicle
October 23, 2009
What if we could change our genetic makeup, such that our brown eyes turned blue? And if that were so, wouldn’t society be best served by using that transformative power to cure diseases, rather than for cosmetic purposes?
These and other implications of the burgeoning field of genetics are the subject of an upcoming local seminar, which will bring together some of the nation’s leading thinkers in the field.
Links:
In concierge medicine, patients pay for easy access
Alan Bavley
The Kansas City Star
October 17, 2009
That poses an ethical problem, said Myra Christopher of the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City. “What we all yearn for is a relationship with a competent medical provider who can help us navigate through the system,” Christopher said.
“But when you’re buying a first-class seat or getting preferred access, I have questions about that. It does widen the disparities gap and makes us even more a nation of haves and have-nots.”
Why we’re afraid of death – and what is costs the US health system
Up to Date
KCUR Radio
October 14, 2009
Why are we so afraid of death? And what's the cost of extending a life to Medicare - or to the rest of the U.S. health system? John Carney, vice president for aging and end of life at the Center for Practical Bioethics and Michael Fox, a professor of health policy and management at the University of Kansas School of Medicine to talk about end-of-life medical decisions, the financial costs of extending life so families can have more time with a loved one, and why we're so afraid of the inevitable - death.
The role of conscience in the work of medical professionals
Up to Date
KCUR Radio
August 6, 2009
How should a medical professional approach a request from a patient that conflicts with their individual conscience? Host Steve Kraske talks with Dr. Daniel Sulmasy of the University of Chicago, and Rosemary Flanigan, Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Practical Bioethics, about recent conflicts of conscience in medical decisions.
The Chilling Effect of Pain
Myra Christopher
American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Care Bulletin
Summer 2009
The Center for Practical Bioethics and our partners are acutely aware that physicians are likely to react with alarm to media reports about DEA pain probes and are sensitive to their experiences with investigations that were ultimately dismissed.
Links:
Area efforts to hold down health costs a template for success elsewhere
Alan Bavley
Kansas City Star
June 28, 2009
Hospice care, which is designed to comfort rather than cure terminally ill patients, is “the gold standard of end-of-life care,” said Myra Christopher, president of the Center for Practical Bioethics.
“The concept that more is better is just wrong,” Christopher said. “Yes, modern technology can result in miracles, but not when it’s applied indiscriminately.”
Chronic Denial – Medical Care At Life’s End
Bryan Thompson
Kansas Public Radio
June 15, 2009
From antibiotics to transplants, the medical breakthroughs of the last 60 years have helped people live longer, more productive lives than ever before.
But bioethicists say it's easy to be dazzled by the latest developments in modern medicine...and easy to forget that when the end of life does draw near, the quality of one's days matters as much as their quantity.
Health reporter Bryan Thompson talked with John Carney, from the Center for Practical Bioethics, as part of the Kansas Public Radio series "Kansas Health: A Prescription for Change".
Area elderly population will double by 2030, report says
Diane Stafford
Kansas City Star
June 12, 2009
Nonprofit Connect released a study that says the area’s 65-and-older population will double by 2030, with a disproportionate share of the growth in the suburban and rural areas of Johnson, Clay and Platte counties.
On hot-button issues, a call for ‘watchful waiting’
As I See It
John C. Danforth
Kansas CityStar
May 13, 2009
On some very hot social issues where public opinion is sharply divided, we could decide not to decide. We could keep the issues open, continue talking and put off the day when courts or legislatures decide.
Center for Practical Bioethics sets up $3M pain-care chair
Kansas City Business Journal
May 12, 2009
“The chair is being created at a time when complex and challenging pain management issues are impacting patients, caregivers and health care professionals,” Center for Practical Bioethics CEO Myra Christopher said in a news release.
Link: News Release, Center for Practical Bioethics Announces Creation of the Kathleen M. Foley Chair for Pain and Palliative Care, May 8
Health Care Rationing with Universal Coverage and in Time of Pandemics
Up to Date
KCUR Radio
May 8, 2009
In conjunction with the Center for Practical Bioethics symposium, Up to Date broadcasts live from the Kansas City Library Central branch as Steve Kraske talks with Dr. Susan Goold, Director of the University of Michigan Medical School's bioethics program, and Dr. John Lantos, John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics, and a professor of pediatrics and bioethics at The University of Chicago about the ethics of rationing health care during pandemic flu outbreaks and in a time of universal health care.
Advance Directives, Living Wills, and End-of-Life Issues
Up to Date
KCUR Radio
April 16, 2009
Guest host Stephen Steigman talks with Center for Practical Bioethics senior fellow Bill Colby and Dr. Karin Porter-Williamson, an assistant professor, section head and Medical Director for Palliative Care services at the KU Medical Center about advance directives and living wills: what we need to have ready, who needs to know it and how to ensure our wishes and those of our loved ones are carried out.
'The Talk' needed as we learn how, when to die
Bill Colby
Kansas City Star
April 13, 2009
We all know families with stories of a loved one dying in pain, isolated, or tethered to unwanted machines. The cause of the problem is fairly straightforward — the solution is not as straightforward. But one critical part of the solution is fairly simple — we need to do a much better job of talking with one another about how we die.
Arrests Draw New Attention to Assisted Suicide
Robbie Brown
New York Times
March 11, 2009
“You have some in our society saying this action is a crime,” said William H. Colby, a lawyer and fellow of the Center for Practical Bioethics. “You have others saying this is such an important right that it rises to the level of our Constitution.”
In-Vitro Fertilization, Embryo Adoption & Proposed Legislation to Limit Embryo Transfer
Up to Date Program (1 hour)
KCUR Radio
March 10, 2009
A panel of medical professionals, including John Lantos, MD of the Center for Practical Bioethics. discuss the case of octuplet mother Nadya Suleman and the practicalities and ethics of assisted reproductive choices. Missouri has proposed legislation to limit the number of embryos transferred during IVF.
Change in stem-cell policy could breathe new life into KC’s research community
Jason Gertzen
Kansas City Star
March 10, 2009
Obama’s action may advance the science, but it will not end the controversy, said Myra Christopher, the president of the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City.
“I expect there will be a lot of renewed fervor around this,” Christopher said.
Arrests Revive Debate Over Assisted Suicide
Kathy Lohr
National Public Radio
Audio: 4 minutes 48 seconds
March 5, 2009
Bill Colby of the Center for Practical Bioethics says this demonstrates how murky the law really is.
"It's not in many areas where we have a question, 'Is the same action a crime, or do we in fact have a constitutional right to that activity?' " Colby says. "Again, the law sets boundaries, but my sense is, at the end of life, that questions about prosecution are a little grayer."
California fertility doctor’s offer of trait selection stirs ethical questions
Laura Bauer
Kansas City Star
March 4, 2009
“It’s an outrage to my sense of justice that people would rather waste resources on something like this rather than things that really matter,” said John Lantos of Kansas City’s Center for Practical Bioethics. “It’s frivolous, not necessarily unethical. It’s a vast waste of resources at a time health-care resources are scarce.”
Assisted suicide case in Georgia revives right-to-die debate
Associated Press
February 27, 2009
"People are trying to understand how we navigate the end of our lives, and we need to keep talking about it," said Bill Colby, senior fellow for law and patient rights at the Center for Practical Bioethics. "But trying to round up people in groups on either extreme end of our social spectrum is not necessarily the best way to move public dialogue."
Definition of assisted suicide not always clear
Greg Bluestein, AP
Washington Post
February 28, 2009
"There's not a big body of case law that distinguishes between the two," said William Colby, an attorney who is a fellow with the Center for Practical Bioethics.
"The reason society set up criminal laws was to stop behavior that many of us find inappropriate for civilized society. That's very clear in a murder. But it's far less clear in a situation where medical technology is deeply involved in sustaining our lives."
Hard Choices At Life’s End
Bryan Thompson
Kansas Public Radio
7 minutes 36 seconds
February 16, 2009
A proposed bill in the Kansas House would make these advance directives clearer and more specific. Bill Colby, the Center’s Senior Fellow for Law and Patient Rights, says the measure is a step forward.
Links:
Face-transplants raise difficult ethical questions
John Lantos
Kansas City Star
February 9, 2009
The first face transplant is likely to fail. Most innovative surgical procedures fail at first. Heart transplantation worked once in the first 100 tries. Liver transplantation was a disaster until new drugs made success possible.
The only way to figure out what works is to fail over and over, and learn from mistakes.
Wishes vs. risky treatment
Judith Graham
Chicago Tribune
February 5, 2009
Fertility experts and bioethicists expressed disapproval of the extraordinary mega-birth and the professionals who made it possible. "Professional negligence," charged Dr. John Lantos of the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City, Mo.
Dilemmas With An Organ Donor Network
Cynthia Newsome
KSHB-TV 41
February 3, 2009
Experts agree there is a short-supply or organs because there are not enough organ donors. But a Tennessee man's plan to convince more people to become organ donors is drawing criticism from transplant industry experts.
Links:
Defective directives? Struggling with end-of-life care
Kevin B. O'Reilly
American Medical News
January 12, 2009
"There's always a question of what exactly the person meant and whether their current clinical circumstances warrant a change in plans," said Dr. Lantos, John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics at the Center for Practical Bioethics.
