John Harris has previously proposed that there is a moral duty to participate in scientific research. This concept has recently been challenged by Iain Brassington, who asserts that the principles cited by Harris in support of the duty to research fail to establish its existence. In this paper we address these criticisms and provide new arguments for the existence of a moral obligation to resea...

Background

PURPOSE To analyze the predictive validity and reliability of the Blaylock Risk Assessment Screening Score (BRASS) Index in a large group of patients. METHODS Prospective multicenter observational study was conducted in six Italian hospitals. Data were collected in three phases. FINDINGS Seven hundred eleven patients were recruited. The mean length of hospitalization for low-risk patients w...

BACKGROUND Several studies have demonstrated increased inhospital mortality following weekend admission. We hypothesized that the presence of resident trainees reduces the weekend mortality trends. METHODS We identified all patients with a non-elective hospital admission from 1/1/2003 through 12/31/2008. We abstracted vital status on discharge and calculated the Charlson comorbidity score for...

This paper examines the effects of variation in unexpected demand on patient outcomes in acute care German hospitals. Naturally, an unexpected surge in demand may negatively affect the quality of care and thus patient outcomes, such as in-hospital mortality. We estimate models explaining patient outcomes depending on demand, unobservable patient selection and seasonal factors, as well as patien...

The Relational Re-enactment Systems Approach to Treatment model is a coherent and comprehensive approach to residential treatment that increases family involvement through system-wide clinical consultation. The therapeutic alliance with youth and their families is emphasized as the key to creating client-centered goals for discharge to a less restrictive environment. The current study examined ...