Palliative psychiatry can facilitate compassionate resolution of ethical conflicts in end-of-life care decision making with persons with substance use disorders.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(9):E678-683. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.678.
Given full information about the risks of long-term opioid therapy, patients often see the value of exploring other options rather than thinking their physicians are reluctant to prescribe narcotics for fear of litigation or regulatory action.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(3):202-208. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.3.ecas1-1503.
Neutral, nondirective counseling of women who are about to give birth to extremely premature infants can undermine their autonomous decision making rather than promoting it.
Catherine A. Marco, MD and Raquel M. Schears, MD, MPH
Two physicians offer commentaries about how an ED physician should communicate the decision to withhold CPR to the patient's family, especially in light of often unrealistic beneficial outcomes portrayed by medical dramas and the media.
Increased use of emergency departments for primary care puts undue burden on EDs; however, EMTALA obligates EDs to provide care to patients regardless of their ability to pay.
Physicians should take an occupational and environmental history of patients suffering from toxic chemical exposure in the workplace and advise them on ways to minimize further exposure to themselves and their families.
When a dual relationship exists between a physician and a patient, the physician has an obligation to put the patient's health first even at the risk of ending the personal relationship.