A commentary about the need for a physician to communicate in a manner that will encourage honest patient disclosure and motivate behavior change, where necessary.
Physicians have a responsibility to assess elderly patients for conditions that could affect their ability to drive safely and to be familiar with state laws that govern physician duty to report impaired drivers.
When patients request drugs for nonmedical reasons, the most effective intervention may be to explore with the patient his or her reasons for using drugs to make lifestyle changes.
A clinical case shows how medical commercialism poses risks to patients without symptoms who get full body scans. Screening for pre-morbid disease detection is valuable if implemented correctly but calls for physician caution.
Diagnosis and treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a childhood-onset problem of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsiveness that may persist into teen years and even beyond, affecting girls as well as boys.
Richard L. Kravitz, MD, MSPH and Jodi Halpern, MD, PhD
Patients have a responsibility to discerningly present the drug information they receive from direct-to-consumer advertising and to be active partners with their physician in making health care decisions.