When patients are unable to express their wishes and do not have surrogates or advance directives, which and whose values should inform decision making for them? We discuss ethical complexities of caring for unrepresented patients.
Government- and industry-funded campaigns for medication disposal do work, but responsibility often falls on local health care organizations to provide education and services.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(10):E971-979. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.971.
Lisa Patel, MD, MESc and Katie E. Lichter, MD, MPH
Health care generates a lot of waste that enters landfills, oceans, and incinerators and adversely affects communities close to waste processing and disposal areas.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(10):E980-985. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.980.
Diagnostic utility of weight and body mass index is widely overestimated, and their use as health and wellness measures can be sources of iatrogenic harm.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(7):E540-544. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.540.
Mismanagement of hospital waste can release harmful, deleterious contaminants into soil, water, and air and can have far-reaching environmental and public relations consequences.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(10):E1013-1021. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.1013.