The picture that emerges from study of physician economic behavior is mixed, but from the intensity of responses by some professional societies to Medicare's coding modifier proposal, it appears that economic incentives matter a lot to many of their members.
The Moseley study found no significant difference between those in the arthroscopic lavage and debridement arm of the study and those in the sham surgery arm.
Viewing dementia as a distinct disease promotes funding for research but may stigmatize those who have dementia and lead to disinvestment in caregiving.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(7):713-719. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.7.mhst1-1707.
This process of developing EBM-based guidelines and applying them to clinical care highlights the tension between generating unbiased knowledge based on statistical aggregation and the application of this information to individual patients.
The need for improved health care transition (HCT) for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be met with training for health care professionals, financial counseling for parents of children with ASD, and increased vocational training and opportunities for youth with ASD.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(4):342-347. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.4.pfor1-1504.
AMA Journal of Ethics editor Audiey Kao, MD, PhD, interviewed Richard Pan, MD, MPH, about how, as a physician and legislator, he seeks to protect public health in light of recurrent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases.
Physician partners in a clinical practice should consider the ethical implications of joining a hospital system-based ACO, including whether there will be pressure to consider the hospital system’s bottom line.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(7):622-629. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.bndr1-1507
Physician report cards (PRCs) provide comparative metrics that may help physicians in making referrals, as long as the referring physician understands the PRC limitations and the inconsistencies among PRCs from different institutions and locations.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(7):608-615. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.ecas2-1507.