Physicians have a responsibility to practice palliative medicine so they can appropriately care for their dying patients and help them achieve their end-of-life goals.
Increased use of emergency departments for primary care puts undue burden on EDs; however, EMTALA obligates EDs to provide care to patients regardless of their ability to pay.
Physicians are held legally responsible if patients are harmed by not receiving the care that is required, even when the restriction of that care is imposed by a third-party payor.
Physicians should help patients resolve the issue of medical debt by advocating for change in the health care system on a local and national level and implementing charity care within their offices.
Amy B. Cadwallader, PhD, Kavitha Nallathambi, MPH, MBA, and Carly Ching, PhD
Poor-quality antimicrobial medicines continue to proliferate across supply chains, threatening patients’ health and safety, especially in low- and middle-income regions.
AMA J Ethics. 2024;26(6):E472-478. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2024.472.