US attitudes toward aging drive patient demands for elective medical and surgical services. Ethical physicians must make sure patients have realistic expectations.
Clinical case and commentary on how physicians should respond when confronted by medication requests from parents of children with mood and concentration disorders.
Medical malpractice pits the legal system's ethics of client advocacy against the medical profession's ethics of patient advocacy. Fear of liability may lead to defensive medicine, an aberration of both professions' intent.
Anne-Marie Laberge, MD, MPH and Wylie Burke, MD, PhD
Two physicians examine the risks of testing minor children for late-onset genetic diseases when there is no current benefit and explain why several medical associations oppose the practice.
Two physicians present their viewpoints on the practice of plastic surgery on reality television shows and the accuracy of the information provided by these shows.
A bioethicist argues that children with Down syndrome should not be subjected to cosmetic surgery to change their appearance unless they are at the age and have the capacity to make the decision for themselves.
A plastic surgeon criticizes reality television programs that focus on plastic surgery for their less-than-realistic depictions of cosmetic procedures and the profession as a whole.
Physicians need to manage expectations and clearly explain the prognosis of ICU patients to their families, particularly when the outcome is a negative one.
Lorraine M. Stone, MD, MSPH and James A. Tulsky, MD
Physicians should develop a specific strategy for talking to relatively healthy patients about their CPR preferences in the event they become seriously ill in the future.