Arthur Caplan

Episode 156 is Arthur Caplan and medical ethics and the cost of an ambulance transport are the topics this week. Arthur is a regular commentator on bioethics and health care issues for WebMD/Medscape, WGBH radio in Boston, and WMNF public radio in Tampa. He appears frequently as a guest and commentator on various other national and international media outlets. Arthur is currently the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City. Prior to coming to NYU, he was the Sidney D. Caplan Professor of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, where hecreated the Center for Bioethics and the Department of Medical Ethics. He has served on a number of national and international committees including as chair of the National Cancer Institute Biobanking Ethics Working Group, chair of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations on Human Cloning, and chair of the Advisory Committee to the Department of Health and Human Services on Blood Safety and Availability. He has also served on the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses. In our discussion, Arthur defines medical ethics, provides tips on how to stay out of trouble and what to do when ethics may get in the way. Arthur speaks about the problem with ambulance billing and solutions to solve the issue.