The Roles and Responsibilities of Physicians in Patients' Decisions about Unproven Stem Cell Therapies

Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics

Volumn 40, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 122-134

  Levine, Aaron D ^a   Wolf, Leslie E ^b  

^a PRINCETON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ADULT; ARTICLE; CHILD; DECISION MAKING; DOCTOR PATIENT RELATION; HUMAN; INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION; MEDICAL SOCIETY; MEDICAL TOURISM; MORALITY; PATIENT EDUCATION; PRACTICE GUIDELINE; STANDARD; STEM CELL RESEARCH; STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION;

ADULT; CHILD; DECISION MAKING; GUIDELINES AS TOPIC; HUMANS; INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES; MEDICAL TOURISM; MORAL OBLIGATIONS; PATIENT EDUCATION AS TOPIC; PHYSICIAN-PATIENT RELATIONS; SOCIETIES, MEDICAL; STEM CELL RESEARCH; STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION;

EID: 84859187160     PISSN: 10731105     EISSN: 1748720X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-720X.2012.00650.x     Document Type: Article

References (46)

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7. See also H. Ledford, quot;Stem-Cell Scientists Grapple with Clinics,"Nature 474, no. 7353 (2011): 550 for a discussion of an important exception, stem cell clinics which claim their treatment methodologies are not subject to FDA oversight.
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27. Schloendorf v. Society of New York Hospital, 211, N.Y. 125, 105 N.E. 92 (1914).
28. See, e.g., Canterbury v. Spence, 464 F.2d 772 (D.C. Cir. 1972).
29. 92 Cal. App. 4th 692 (2001).
30. 92 Cal. App. 4th at 697. Several of the legal charges were resolved in the physician's favor, but only after the Schiff's daughter had been treated. Id., at 698-699. The father also acknowledged that he was aware that the American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society were critical of the Texas physician, who was considered a "fraud" by many, and his experimental treatment. Id., at 697-699.
31. Schiff v. Prados, 92 Cal.App. 4th at 700.
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34. Schiff v. Prados, 92 Cal. App. 4th at 707, citing Spencer By and Through Spencer v. Seikel, 742 P.2d 1126 (1987).
35. L. A. Vincler and M. F. Nicol, "When Ignorance Isn't Bliss: What Healthcare Practitioners and Facilities Should Know about Complementary and Alternative Medicine, " Journal of Health and Hospital Law 30, no. 3 (1997): 160-178, discussing physician obligations with respect to patient inquiries regarding complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). They suggest that physicians in an ongoing relationship have an obligation to inquire regarding CAM usage and provide information about the risks and benefits of the particular CAM in use. They suggest physicians have a minimum obligation to obtain and share information regarding basic efficacy and safety of the CAM in use, although they also indicate that obligation may be limited to the "reasonable efforts of a similarly trained practitioner.".
36. See, e.g., Stem Cell Information, "FAQs, "available at (last visited January 23, 2012).
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39. Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs v. von Eschenbach, 495 F.3d 695 (D.C. Cir. 2007) cert. denied 552 U.S. 1159 (2008).
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41. A. Zarzeczny and T. Caulfield, quot;Stem Cell Tourism and Doctors Duties to Minors - A View from Canada," American Journal of Bioethics 10, no. 5 (2010): 3-15, at 6.
42. N. Kellogg and American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Abuse and Neglect, "The Evaluation of Sexual Abuse in Children, " Pediatrics 116, no. 2 (2005): 506-512, at 511.
43. See, e.g., NY Penal §265.25. See id. (Kellogg and American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Abuse and Neglect), supra note 57.
44. See, e.g., Fla. Stat. Ann. §39.201.
45. C. E. Murdoch and C. T. Scott, "Stem Cell Tourism and the Power of Hope, " American Journal of Bioethics 10, no. 5 (2010): 16-23.
46. See, for instance, H-480.964 Alternative Medicine, which outlines the AMA policy on alternative medicine highlighting the lack of safety of efficacy information on most alternative therapies and calling for such studies and for physicians to routinely inquire into their patients' use of such alternative therapies and educate both themselves and their patients about the state of scientific knowledge on these options. In addition, see D-480.981 Increasing Awareness of the Benefits and Risks Associated with Complementary and Alternative Medicine, calling on the AMA the "promote awareness among medical students and physicians of the wide use of complementary or alternative medicine, including its benefits, risks, and evidence of efficacy or lack thereof."