The WHO Clinical Staging System for HIV/AIDS allows physicians in resource-limited settings to make clinical decisions based on patient clinical features instead of laboratory tests.
When recruiting physicians from developing countries for U.S. residency training slots there are ethical concerns that program directors and potential residents should be aware of and discuss.
As courts continue to define the balance between a First Amendment right of free speech, the public's right to know, and protection of the private, physicians must take care to protect patient privacy in any publishing endeavor.
Writing a case study of a psychiatric patient may change the patient-physician dynamic even if the patient consents to be written about. And when the patient is a minor and consent must involve her parents, the process becomes even more complicated.