A Conversation on Ethical Considerations for a Fair and Effective Health Care System
What ethical considerations should guide the design and evaluation of systems of care for children with medical complexity? There are inevitable tradeoffs that any complex health care system must confront when attempting to achieve multiple worthy goals, from benefitting individual patients and families and securing fair distribution of benefits across populations, to operating in a manner that is transparent and free from conflicts of interest.
Discussing the article, Ethical Framework for Risk Stratification and Mitigation Programs for Children with Medical Complexity, the panel shared recommendations that help ensure programs for children with medical complexity avoid potentially ethically problematic situations and practices.
This article is part of a supplement to Pediatrics entitled, “Building Systems that Work for Children with Complex Health Care Needs.”
Speakers
Chris Feudtner, MD, PhD, MPH
Dr. Chris Feudtner is a pediatrician, clinical investigator, and ethicist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania who focuses on improving the lives of children with complex chronic conditions and their families. Over the years, he has conducted a wide variety of research projects and been involved in developing clinical programs while also taking care of pediatric patients, including providing palliative care, as well as providing clinical ethics consultations.
Grace Oei, MD, MA
Dr. Grace Oei is a pediatric critical care attending physician at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor of pediatrics with the Loma Linda University School of Medicine. She is also the Director of Clinical Ethics at Loma Linda University Health where she leads the clinical ethics consult service. Dr. Oei’s academic and clinical interests include clinical ethics, moral development, process improvement, and pediatric pain and sedation, particularly in the ICU.
Chaplain Mark Bartel, M.Div, BCC
Chaplain Mark Bartel is the manager of Spiritual Care at Arnold Palmer Medical Center in Orlando, Florida. He is a past president of the Pediatric Chaplains Network and co-editor of “Paediatric Chaplaincy: principles, practices and skills.” He is a founding faculty member of the Pediatric Chaplains Institute and sat on the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality at the US Department of Health and Human Services. He is board certified through the Association of Professional Chaplains.
Christopher Stille, MD, MPH
Dr. Christopher Stille is professor of pediatrics and section head of General Academic Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado. The primary focus of his research has been improving communication and coordinated care for CYSHCN between primary care clinicians, subspecialists, and family members. He has led projects funded by the U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and local and regional funders to pursue this investigation.
Webinar Recording
Webinar Slides