Center for Health Law and Policy

2005 Distinguished Visitor

Thursday, April 21, 2005

4 - 5 p.m., Reception following

SIU School of Law

Room 204

Bioethicist

Martin L. Smith, S.T.D.

Chief of the Clinical Ethics Service

and Associate Professor of Critical Care

The University of Texas

M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Morally Managing Medical Mistakes

A patient dies because of a medical error. How should the case be handled? Clinical ethicist Martin L. Smith, S.T.D., helps patients, families, and medical professionals identify, analyze, and resolve such difficult medical dilemmas. Dr. Smith and the Clinical Ethics Service staff conduct approximately 100 ethics consultations a year at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, communicating ethically supportable options, strategies, and recommendations to the family and the medical team. Using case examples and summarizing emerging patient safety literature, Dr. Smith will address whether “honesty is the best policy” regarding disclosure of medical mistakes to patients and families.

School of Law

Center for Health Law and Policy

Call (618) 453-8636 for more information.