Countering the prevailing thought that more medical testing and treatment is always better can be achieved by creating a forum for open discussion of costs and value to prevent patient harm from overuse.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(11):1079-1081. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.11.mnar1-1511.
This comic conveys the absurdity of overreliance on symptom measures and excessive testing in contemporary clinical decision making and health care practice.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(9):E816-817. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.816.
Camillo Lamanna, MMathPhil, MBBS and Lauren Byrne, MBBS
Perhaps machine learning systems trained on patients’ electronic health records and social media footprints could be used as decision aids when patients lack capacity or face overwhelming decisions.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(9):E902-910. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.902.
Large precision health initiatives like the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us campaign raise important ethical questions about consent, privacy, and inclusivity. This month on Ethics Talk, we explore with Dr Katie Johansen Taber and Ysabel Duron strategies for protecting participants and ensuring that diverse communities are represented.
Trafficking-specific ICD-10-CM codes account for physical, social, and psychological dimensions of trafficked patients’ experiences. Data collected by clinicians can also motivate improvements in health policy, resource allocation, and prevention.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(12):E1143-1151. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1143.
Grace Kim, Uriel Sanchez Molina, and Altaf Saadi, MD, MSHPM
Undocumented patients can be subject to discrimination, reporting, detention, or deportation in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, so what goes in the record is critical.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(1):E8-16. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.8.
Being undocumented is a risk factor for mental illness, and immigration status relates prominently to overall health. That’s enough to consider it protected health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(1):E32-37. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.32.