Anne Drapkin Lyerly, MD, MA and Ruth R. Faden, PhD, MPH
Participation in a research study—in which there are rigorous standards and close monitoring—may be a safer context for the use of medications in pregnancy than the clinical setting, where the evidence base is lacking.
Industrialized nations could benefit from strategies emerging in developing nations such as respectful collaboration between traditional out-of-hospital birthing practices and maternity units in partnering hospitals.
The FDA’s expanded access pathway allows patients with no other therapeutic options to request access to investigational agents, but manufacturers do not often grant it.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(12):1142-1146. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.12.stas1-1512.
AMA Journal of Ethics' editor Audiey Kao, MD, PhD, interviewed Kenneth Sands, MD, about harms to patient dignity caused by unintentional disrespect and about initiatives for measuring, tracking, and correcting such harms.