Ethics Portal

As members of our cardiothoracic surgical specialty are subjected to an increasing frequency and variety of stresses, ethical considerations are assuming a more prominent role in everyday practice. Frustrated by the ever-changing procedural and financial restrictions of Medicare and managed care; by the complexities of business arrangements with partners, competitors, referring physicians and hospitals; by the inducements to utilize new drugs, devices and protocols; by the unrelenting pressure to lower morbidity and expected/ observed mortality rates; by shortening hospital lengths of stays and constraining hospital costs, today's surgeons are experiencing difficulties in avoiding conflicts of interest or obligation. Consequently, there is added responsibility to function as moral fiduciaries and patient advocates, protecting and promoting the patients' best interes