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.
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.
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.
Regina Idoate, PhD, Aislinn C. Rookwood, MPH, Sophia A. Quintero, MPH, Watie White, MFA, Shelby Larson, MPH, Arturo Aceves, MD, and Keyonna M. King, DrPH, MA
Healthy Housing Omaha, an environmental health nonprofit, partnered with an artist and a newspaper to raise awareness of lead poisoning.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(7):E599-610. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.599.
Beyond consensus that pain is “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience,” its biology remains poorly understood, and options for its treatment remain frustratingly inadequate.