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With patients accessing medical records, it is a good time for ethics to change those outdated practices. “Ethics consult notes absolutely need to go in the chart,” Binkley stresses.

The ethics notes will not include a physical exam or lab results, but should contain a good history, assessment of religious and social needs, family dynamics, decision-making capacity, the ethical question, and options for resolving it. “It’s important to give the reasoning behind the recommendation and how it takes into account the patient’s values,” Binkley says.

Charles Binkley, director of Bioethics, quoted on Relias Media.