Legacy patients are so-called because their opioid use behaviors express past, aggressive opioid prescribing by a clinician. Managing their pain and dependence justly is ethically complex.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(8):E651-657. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.651.
Jennifer D. Byrne, LCSW, CADC, Katie S. Clancy, MSW, and Isabell Ciszewski, LCSW
Social work perspectives on whether prescribers should authorize opioid refills emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to patient self-determination.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(8):E658-663. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.658.
Considering chronic opioid use when planning elective surgery would likely enhance team communication, decrease stigma, and facilitate care transitioning and long-term planning.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(8):E664-667. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.664.
Ava Ferguson Bryan, MD, AM, Elizabeth Yates, MD, MPH, and Neelima Tummala, MD, MSc
The health sector has obligations and ample opportunities to protect health by decreasing waste and motivating more system-wide sustainable clinical practices.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(10):E927-933. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.927.
This commentary on a case considers a transgender patient’s mental health and risk for DVT in ethical decision making about feminizing gender-affirming hormone therapy.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(6):E386-390. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.386.
Annika Brakebill, A. Mark Fendrick, MD, and Jeffrey T. Kullgren, MD, MS, MPH
These key steps are ones health sector stakeholders should take to help patients and clinicians use pricing information to inform health decision making.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(11):E1034-1039. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.1034.