Health Care Ethics Seminars

Upcoming Seminars | 2008 Seminars | 2009 Seminars | 2010 Seminars | 2011 Seminars

The Poynter Center invites six to eight speakers during the academic year to address ethical concerns of community health care providers. Discussion participants include faculty members, students, local healthcare workers, and center staff.

Each program is from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Poynter Center, 618 East Third Street. The Henderson parking garage, which is located south of the Poynter Center, offers pay public parking.

---

Thursday, February 16

Emily Beckman
"The Content of Hope"

Dr. Beckman, DMH, is a Visiting Scholar in the Medical Humanities and Health Studies Program in the IU School of Liberal Arts and the IU School of Medicine at IUPUI. Her teaching and research interests in Medical Humanities include literature and medicine, end-of-life communication, and empathy in medicine.

Dr. Beckman will present the results of a qualitative study of the meaning of hope expressed by patients at various stages of treatment for colon cancer. The possibility that what a patient hopes for may have a profound effect on discussions regarding the patient’s treatment options and quality of life will be explored. Whether hope provides something on which to cling when feelings of helplessness seem overwhelming, or simply inspires us to help others, hope is an important part of the experience of cancer. Though shared by all, hope is personal. What it means to one, and how it is perceived, is unique to each patient. Understanding one’s personal hopes will surely encourage overall health and wellness as healthcare decisions are made. It is important to understand not only how much or how little hope a patient maintains after being diagnosed with cancer, but also, and perhaps more importantly, what those hopes may be.

---

Thursday, March 22

Kathryn Coe
"The Ethics of Participatory Action Research in Tribal Groups in the Southwest "

Kathryn Coe is from IUPUI Public Health program.

---

Thursday, April 19

Greg Gramelspacher

Dr. Gramelspacher is from the IU School of Medicine.

---

Completed Spring 2012 Health Care Ethics Seminars

Thursday, January 19

Fred Cate
"The Role of Consent in Health Information Research."

The federal government adopted a broad privacy rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA's Privacy Rule imposes its strongest restrictions on the use of personal data in health research. The Institute of Medicine reported in 2009 that "the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not protect privacy as well as it should" and "as currently implemented, the HIPAA Privacy Rule impedes important health research." The IOM report recommended against requiring consent for research with health information. This presentation explored the role of consent in research with health information and other issues about the privacy of health information in the research context.

Fred H. Cate is Distinguished Professor and C. Ben Dutton Professor of Law at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. He is co-director of the university's Center for Law, Ethics, and Applied Research in Health Information and Principal Investigator on the NIH grant, "Protecting Privacy in Health Research."

Fred Cate

See also the Matthew Vandivier Sims Memorial Lecture