Dr Travis Rieder discusses his own experiences with opioids and the ethical challenges of “legacy patients,” and Dr Stephanie Zaza, president of the American College of Preventive Medicine, discusses the future of opioid research priorities.
Colonel Paul F. Pasquina, USA (Ret), MD, Antonio J. Carvalho, and Terrence Patrick Sheehan, MD
Health outcomes for people who have had amputations are affected not only by barriers to access, such as race, socioeconomic status and cost, but also by the type of facility where they receive treatment and rehabilitative services.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(6):535-546. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.6.stas1-1506
Levan Atanelov, MD, MS, Steven A. Stiens, MD, MS, and Mark A. Young, MD, MBA
Physical medicine and rehabilitation has developed into a medical specialty that aims to restore optimal patient function in multiple dimensions of life with an interdisciplinary approach to care delivery.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(6):568-574. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.6.mhst1-1506.
Efforts are underway to make posttraumatic stress disorder a condition for which the Veterans Administration will authorize coverage for use of service dogs.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(6):547-552. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.6.hlaw1-1506.
Incarcerated pregnant women are shackled while giving birth and routinely separated from their children immediately, which in many states leads to permanent termination of parental rights.
Punishing women who use drugs during pregnancy deters them from seeking prenatal care and entering drug treatment programs, and the relevant policies may unfairly target poor or minority women.
When a pregnant woman is knowingly causing harm to her unborn child, there are various legal interventions that can be taken to protect the rights if the fetus.