AMA Journal of Ethics

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.

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 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.

How should AI be incorporated into medical education? We discuss how educators can adapt to rapid change in an ethically complex field.

Undocumented patients are a vulnerable population, since they often lack access to health insurance and can be afraid to present for care. This month on Ethics Talk, we discuss challenges in caring for undocumented patients with Dr. Mark Kuczewski, Scott Schweikart, and Dr. Nancy Berlinger.

Labels commonly used in clinical settings, like “elective” or “therapeutic,” influence how we think about the justifiability of abortion. We talk with Professor Katie Watson and Dr Maryl Sackeim about how the language clinicians use to describe abortion can affect patients’ experiences and even cause harm.

In a special mini-episode of Ethics Talk, we explore the implications of a new proposed immigration policy that could have broad effects on immigrants' health with Dr. Rachel Fabi, explain why clinicians and students should consider submitting a public comment, and outline best practices for weighing in.

We live in a time when an array of information is available at the fingertips of anyone with access to a computer, but more information doesn’t necessarily mean more understanding. False beliefs about health care can be quickly and widely perpetuated online, with serious consequences. This month on Ethics Talk, we spoke with Dr. Jennifer McCormick, Dr. Albert Ko, and Dr. Diane Griffin about why it’s important for clinicians to respond to health care-related false beliefs and how they can do so effectively.