Caregivers often think that so-called “frequent-flyer” patients are at fault for their poor medical outcomes. In many such cases, though, unaddressed psychosocial issues are the root of the patients’ repeat visits to the emergency department.
Dr David Marcus joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article: “When, If Ever, Is It Appropriate to Regard a Patient as ‘Too Medically Complex’ for One Inpatient Service, But Not Another?”
Constraints on hospitalists and surgeons and restricted orthopedic admission criteria can exacerbate patients’ distress that comes from clinicians’ disagreements.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(12):E873-877. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.873.
Radiologists have a duty to report suspected child abuse and this duty is not satisfied by merely sharing these suspicions with the referring physician if that physician does not intend to follow up.
Physicians can maintain a balance between professional and personal obligations by having a well-organized practice and honest communication with patients.
Review of a book that reflects on a doctor’s journey back to medical practice after performing a difficult delivery that may have contributed to the newborn’s cerebral palsy.
An argument that physicians who refuse to respond to emergency department calls are acting unprofessionally by declaring, in effect, that their needs are more important than those of their colleagues.