When confidential medical information can prevent a serious harm to a third party, the patient’s prima facie right to confidentiality must be balanced against the physician’s prima facie obligation to prevent serious harm to that third party.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(9):819-825. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.9.ecas1-1509.
Dr Liam G. McCoy joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article, coauthored with Drs Zainab Doleeb, Jazleen Dada, and Catherine Allaire: “Underrecognition of Dysmenorrhea Is an Iatrogenic Harm.”
Vaccination rates among adolescents and young adults, for whom the risk of infection is greatest, remain lower than was true for other vaccines in their first years. And vaccination rates among males is extremely low.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(9):854-857. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.9.msoc1-1509.
Successful implementation of initiatives to improve screening and access to health-promotion activities at minority-serving religious institutions requires partnering with faith-based organizations, adapting interventions, and leveraging organizational infrastructure and social networks.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(7):E643-654. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.643.
Interprofessional collaboration is a vital part of medical education. When a medical student resists learning from a nurse-midwife on a rotation, how should an academic medical faculty member respond?
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(9):898-902. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.9.ecas2-1609.
When the patient delivers a low-birth-weight infant that requires extensive time in the neonatal intensive, should she be held responsible? Where do we draw the line? More importantly, on what basis do we draw the line?
The stigma associated with HIV has diminished with its spread among the heterosexual population and the development of effective treatments. This normalization may justify assuming a more traditional public health perspective about mandatory prenatal screening.
Andrew M. Courtwright, MA and Mia Wechsler Doron, MTS, MD
A positive right to parenthood obligates others to support a person’s attempt to become a parent. Do physicians have a duty to assist their patients’ procreative efforts, and, if so, in what ways?