The U.S. Supreme Court upheld key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The individual mandates and the optional Medicaid expansion will begin on January 1, 2014.
Conducting community-based research in the community where one resides demands careful planning, sensitivity to community members’ privacy, and a strong commitment to full and respectful communication.
The differences between CBPR and traditional research have been enumerated, but how to overcome them is still up for discussion, collaboration with community members is advocated, and examples are given.
A hospital shares responsibility for system failures that result in harm to a patient in its care. A fully functional computerized physician order-entry (CPOE) system should be able to prevent “copy and paste” medication errors from harming patients.
Physician partners in a clinical practice should consider the ethical implications of joining a hospital system-based ACO, including whether there will be pressure to consider the hospital system’s bottom line.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(7):622-629. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.bndr1-1507
Survey of faculty physicians at the University of Pennsylvania led to a list of proposals for health care reforms beyond those included in the Affordable Care Act.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(7):680-688. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.sect2-1507.
The Affordable Care Act broadens health coverage primarily through market mechanisms, building on the public-private partnership in service of an important policy goal.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(7):665-671. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.msoc1-1507
The “Cadillac tax” on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage exacerbates inequities by differentially affecting the costs and subsidization of coverage for lower- and higher-income workers.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(7):672-679. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.sect1-1507.