AMA Journal of Ethics

Global health outreach programs can risk benefitting students from resource-rich areas of the world more than the patients in resource-poor areas of the world. This month’s episode of Ethics Talk explores an alternative to academic health center-based health outreach programs.

Short-term experiences in global health are common ways trainees engage in global health activities. Professional societies take active roles in addressing these ethical challenges.

In 1984, Hatch-Waxman tried to balance drug innovation against availability; it was tested in the US Supreme Court in 2013.

How do we determine what a fair price for a life-saving prescription medication should be? This month, we discuss what is means for a price to be “fair” and explore the current legal and economic landscape of prescription drug pricing in the US.

Safeguards are urgently needed for assessments of what constitutes appropriate care for unaccompanied minors in US detention facilities.

When patients are unable to express their wishes and do not have surrogates or advance directives, which and whose values should inform decision making for them? We discuss ethical complexities of caring for unrepresented patients.

When a patient’s preference expresses injustice, how should clinicians respond? We discuss individual and organizational responses.

When evaluating a 10-year-old with leukemia and chemo-induced heart failure for VAD placement, a team considers what to do.

When should ECMO be started and stopped? This month’s Ethics Talk explores ethical challenges of ECMO use in end-of-life care.

What are key factors for successful partnerships between health care organizations and communities? We discuss strategies for building trust and engaging effectively.