Legacy patients are so-called because their opioid use behaviors express past, aggressive opioid prescribing by a clinician. Managing their pain and dependence justly is ethically complex.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(8):E651-657. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.651.
Jennifer D. Byrne, LCSW, CADC, Katie S. Clancy, MSW, and Isabell Ciszewski, LCSW
Social work perspectives on whether prescribers should authorize opioid refills emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to patient self-determination.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(8):E658-663. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.658.
This narrative illuminates need for students and clinicians to be well prepared to face ethically and structurally complex realities of identifying and responding to children.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(2):E159-165. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.159.
Physicians tend to rely on diagnostic criteria, including BMI, that can influence patients’ access to care, referrals, and insurance coverage for indicated interventions.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(7):E507-513. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.507.
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.
April R. Christensen, MD, Tara E. Cook, MD, and Robert M. Arnold, MD
Physicians who are uncomfortable with patients’ requests to participate in prayer should pause, listen respectfully, and reflect back their understanding of the request, regardless of whether they pray.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(7):E621-629. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.621.
Katelyn G. Bennett, MD and Christian J. Vercler, MD, MA
Plastic surgeons who use patient images for online advertising should ensure informed consent and not exploit the patient-physician relationship for gain.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(4):328-335. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.4.ecas1-1804.