A major contributor to the lack of medicines in developing countries is an intellectual property regime that allows proprietary drug companies with intellectual property monopolies to charge high prices and maximize profit.
Eleftherios Mylonakis, MD and Panayiotis D. Ziakas, MD, MSc, PhD
Allocating resources for interventions requires consensus among stakeholders with a plurality of perspectives about how to weigh antimicrobial stewardship interventions’ risks and benefits.
AMA J Ethics. 2021;23(8):E631-638. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2021.631.
Amy B. Cadwallader, PhD, Kavitha Nallathambi, MPH, MBA, and Carly Ching, PhD
Poor-quality antimicrobial medicines continue to proliferate across supply chains, threatening patients’ health and safety, especially in low- and middle-income regions.
AMA J Ethics. 2024;26(6):E472-478. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2024.472.
Eitan Neidich, Alon B. Neidich, David A. Axelrod, MD, and John P. Roberts, MD
Geographic disparities in availability of organs for transplant have spawned for-profit companies that help patients get on waitlists in more than one region and arrange travel for them if an organ becomes available.
Bruce C. Vladeck, PhD, Sander Florman, MD, and Jonathan Cooper, JD
The United Network for Organ Sharing’s geographic allocation system is outdated and inequitable, particularly in light of improved ability to transport organs. Allocation should be based on common medical criteria, not accidents of geography.
Daphne C. Ferrer, MD and Peter M. Yellowlees, MBBS, MD
Telepsychiatry extends access to psychiatric treatment to those who might not otherwise get it, but licensure problems and the risk of boundary violations between patients and physicians need to be worked out.