Mayo Clinic proceedings
-
Mayo Clinic proceedings · Apr 2012
Comparative StudyA comparison of general medical and clinical ethics consultations: what can we learn from each other?
Despite the emergence of clinical ethics consultation as a clinical service in recent years, little is known about how clinical ethics consultation differs from, or is the same as, other medical consultations. A critical assessment of the similarities and differences between these 2 types of consultations is important to help the medical community appreciate ethics consultation as a vital service in today's health care setting. ⋯ Studies for this analysis were obtained through the PubMed database using the keywords ethics consultation, medical consultation, ethics consults, medical consults, ethics consultants, and medical consultants. All English-language articles published from 1970 through August 2011 that pertained to the structure and process of medical and ethics consultation were reviewed.