Legacy patients are so-called because their opioid use behaviors express past, aggressive opioid prescribing by a clinician. Managing their pain and dependence justly is ethically complex.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(8):E651-657. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.651.
Jennifer D. Byrne, LCSW, CADC, Katie S. Clancy, MSW, and Isabell Ciszewski, LCSW
Social work perspectives on whether prescribers should authorize opioid refills emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to patient self-determination.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(8):E658-663. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.658.
One patient’s experience of life-encompassing iatrogenic harm from being institutionalized emphasizes Italy’s comparative success, relative to the United States, in recovering from decades of deinstitutionalization policy.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(8):E795-803. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.795.
Mary Perkinson, DMA, Vaishali Phatak, PhD, and Meghan K. Ramirez
There is evidence of the benefits of music for health and wellness, but current US clinical practice does not yet commonly incorporate arts-based interventions.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(7):E611-616. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.611.
This commentary on a case considers a transgender patient’s mental health and risk for DVT in ethical decision making about feminizing gender-affirming hormone therapy.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(6):E386-390. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.386.