Disparities in children’s mental health care could be addressed through expansion of school-based programs via passage of the Mental Health in Schools Act.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(12):1218-1224. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.12.pfor1-1612.
The need for improved health care transition (HCT) for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be met with training for health care professionals, financial counseling for parents of children with ASD, and increased vocational training and opportunities for youth with ASD.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(4):342-347. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.4.pfor1-1504.
The ACA does not, as intended, provide equal access to health care, due to financial and geographic barriers, and low coverage limits access to habilitative and rehabilitative services.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(6):553-557. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.6.pfor1-1506.
Despite leaps forward in medical technology that have enabled the timely detection and effective treatment of many cancers, members of marginalized racial and ethnic groups and patients without health insurance often do not receive timely and appropriate care.
Physician-journalists balance the ethical requirements of two professions with competing goals. Physicians must “do patients no harm ” and “keep secret” what they “see or hear”; journalists seek out and disseminate information in service of public enlightenment.
The importance of the Oregon experiment is that the state developed a public process for prioritizing medical services rather than relying on undisclosed private decisions by individuals or insurers.
Erwin C. Wang, MHA, Megan Prior, Jenny M. Van Kirk, Stephen A. Sarmiento, Margaret M. Burke, MS, Christine Oh, MS, Eileen S. Moore, MD, and Stephen Ray Mitchell, MD
Policies and systems are slow to resolve structural disparities in access to insurance coverage and health care, but physicians can act now.