Category / Access to Care / Case Studies / Vulnerable Populations
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![Chain link fence representing barriers to healthcare.]()
Case Study: Healthcare Insurance Barriers
Healthcare insurance barriers cause strife for the patient, clinicians, and hospital when Ms. Grayson, a 44-year-old woman, is diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer and has no health insurance. Center for Practical Bioethics.
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Case Study: Pregnancy Termination
This pregnancy termination clinical ethics case study regards a 32-year-old patient presenting with a likely nonviable pregnancy at 10 weeks gestation raises critical questions about patient autonomy, informed consent, and physician paternalism when her OB/GYN refuses to prescribe termination medication pending a follow-up scan. Center for Practical Bioethics.
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![Medicaid work requirements words on a caution sign.]()
Case Study: Medicaid Work Requirements
Medical work requirements prevent the patient with early-stage breast cancer to qualify for Medicaid while caring for her father. Center for Practical Bioethics.
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Case Study: Medical Team Disagrees
Medical team members believe that the primary attending may be prolonging Mr. Blake’s death rather than saving his life and allowing his suffering to continue. Center for Practical Bioethics.
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Bioethics Case Study – Empathy in Ethics Consultation Supports Family
Using empathy in healthcare ethics consultations is the topic of this Bioethics case study in VIDEO and PRINT. This case illustrates how the ethics consultant discovered the underlying reason for the family’s reluctance to let go and find a way to meet their need with empathy. Published by the Center for Practical Bioethics.
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Case Study: When Vaccination Status Leads to Conflict
Bioethics case study on parents reacting defensively when doctors ask about the child’s vaccination status. Physicians question their response to anti-vax parents. Published by the Center for Practical Bioethics.
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Bioethics Case Study – When a Parent Overrules Their Child’s Best Interests
When parents overrule their child’s best interest is the topic of this Bioethics case study in VIDEO and PRINT. Patient self-determination and personal autonomy are central components of ethically appropriate care. Published by the Center for Practical Bioethics.
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Case Study: Starting ECMO Without Consent
Bioethics case study on starting ECMO without consent. Starting ECMO: Husband Requests Intervention for Wife Without Her Consent The patient’s husband requests ECMO without her consent. Center for Practical Bioethics
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![A hand intervening in dominoes falling. Stopping the process.]()
Bioethics Case Study – ECMO and Healthcare Technology
Bioethics case study on ECMO and Healthcare Technology in VIDEO and PRINT. Technology Means Hard Choices: To Start or Not to Start ECMO. His wife became critically ill and had to be transferred to the ICU after delivering her baby via emergency C-section. She continued to decline in the ICU to the point that her only chance of survival was to be transferred to another hospital to start ECMO. Published by the Center for Practical Bioethics.
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Case Study: Undocumented Patient Relies on Hospital ED
Bioethics case study on undocumented patients denied care. Mr. Ramirez is a 44-year-old male with multiple medical conditions, including cirrhosis of the liver and acute kidney failure. He has expressed that outpatient dialysis would indeed be his preference, but due to his undocumented status, accessing it is not an option.
