Health care policy changes are needed to minimize the risk to physicians responding to public health emergencies and aid in their longer-term responsibility of protecting and promoting the nation's health.
While physicians have a duty to treat even at the risk of their own personal safety, citizens also have minimal obligations to assist those protecting them during bioterrorism or natural disasters.
The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act proposes state legislation that should be enacted to ensure an adequate and coordinated response to public health emergencies.
Physicians who are interested providing care to uninsured patients can consider a number of options to balance his altruistic desires with his personal needs.
Many public health officials are calling for mandatory vaccination against smallpox for all emergency medical workers, but the possibility of adverse reactions to the vaccine raises questions of compensation for those injured.
While some argue that live footage of emergency room treatment is beneficial to the general public, the AMA's Code of Medical Ethics states that such taping is a violation of patient privacy and patient confidentiality.
Health savings accounts should not be the focus of a strategy to expand health care coverage to the uninsured, but should be considered complementary to more fundamental health care reform.
Utah's preventive care plan for the uninsured offers limited benefit for young healthy individuals but does not provide the necessary care for it's more chronically ill participants.
In a move towards universal HIV care, the WHO and UNAIDS have implemented a plan to make antiretroviral therapy available to 3 million HIV/AIDS victims worldwide by the end of 2005.