Physicians can improve diets of patients who live in food deserts by providing nutrition materials, training in food preparation, and promoting nutritious food availability in communities where they practice.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(10):E918-923. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.918.
Farmworkers can become ill due to toxic exposure in their work environments. Recommending specific restrictions, educating patients on protection strategies, and partnering with agribusiness owners and allied health workers can drive development of alternatives to agricultural practices with health risks.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(10):E932-940. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.932.
A lack of consensus guidelines or a belief that current evidence does not support such guidelines might be justified if a clinician expresses a commitment to patient-centered care and shared decision making.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(11):E1007-1016. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1007.
Parents’ false beliefs can be engaged respectfully to motivate deliberations about shared values and goals, but refusal of clinically indicated treatment could warrant reporting.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(11):E1017-1024. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1017.
Vegan patients screened for vitamin and mineral deficiencies might benefit from supplements, but physicians are obliged to discuss lack of regulation in the supplement industry and possible risks.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(11):E1025-1032. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1025.
Stephanie L. Samuels, MD and Wilma C. Rossi, MD, MBE
When a parent resists a physician's recommendation for a pediatric patient, physician-parent partnering can promote the patient's best interest and help encourage lifestyle changes.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(12):E1126-1132. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1126
Jane Bartels, MBBS and Christopher J. Ryan, MBBS, MHL
When patients cannot give informed consent or refusal for antipsychotic medication, physicians must meet specific criteria to justify temporarily withholding a diagnosis.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(12):E1119-1125. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1119.
When symptoms of polypharmacy are consistent with those of difficult-to-diagnose disorders, reliable determinations about which drugs are necessary is critical.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(12):E1133-1138. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1133.