Oliver Schirokauer, PhD, MD, Thomas A. Tallman, DO, MMM, Leah Jeunnette, PhD, Despina Mavrakis, MBA, and Monica L. Gerrek, PhD
An educational initiative is described in which medical and bioethics students observe health care in an urban jail for two days and reflect on their learning.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(9):845-853. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.9.peer1-1709.
A medical student has no duty to refrain from repeating a clinical instructor’s comments except for patient-revealing elements. He may, in fact, have a duty to repeat those remarks to someone who can correct the instructor.
Is it ethical for a psychiatrist to monitor a patient’s blog without the patient’s permission? If so, what information from the blog is suitable for entry in the patient’s medical record?
Volk v DeMeerleer may conflict with professional guidelines regarding physicians’ obligations to breach patient confidentiality to protect third parties.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(1):10-18. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.peer2-1801.
Fabian M. Saleh, MD and H. Martin Malin, PhD, MA, LMFT
In treating patients whose sexual fantasies do not trigger an immediate legal duty to report, psychiatrists must be vigilant for signs that the patient intends to act on a fantasy.
Requirements for informed consent are relatively vague and the exceptions are few, so it is in the physician’s best interest to inform patients about proposed treatment options, ascertain that they understand their choices, and secure their consent.