Decision making in health care demands that we balance multiple considerations, like quality of life, statistics, and how different options could affect others. Dr Brian Zikmund-Fisher shares his own experience as a patient and explains how decision science can help us navigate ethically complex health decisions.
A 3-step analgesic ladder was introduced in 1986 and needs change. Surgical interventions could reduce opioid use and motivate expansion of current pain management approaches.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(8):E695-701. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.695.
Decisions about where and to whose professional stewardship patients are admitted are influenced by federal policies of which physicians might not be aware.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(12):E901-908. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.901.