We currently have no simple test of any kind that tells us whether someone has pain, but there is reason to be optimistic that brain imaging that can contribute to evaluation of pain may be within our grasp.
When psychiatrists must submit evaluations of their patients in legal settings, they must provide complete and factual accounts even if the patient's attorneys would rather redact some information.
State laws prohibiting sodomy were on the books throughout US history until struck down by the US Supreme Court, which argued in Lawrence v Texas (2003) that the state cannot criminalize private sexual conduct.
When deciding whether a pregnant woman will take antidepressants that pose a slight risk to the fetus, the patient and doctor must each make value-based determinations about whether absolute protection of the fetus is more important than preventing the mother’s probable suffering.
Patients who have been encouraged to think of themselves as consumers and a medical system that is driven by individual demands rather than big-picture planning can undermine fairness in the distribution of vaccines.
The revisions balance a growing understanding of gender identity disorders and societal views with the need to retain conditions that benefit from intervention and the removal of which would hamper patients’ ability to receive medical treatment.
Psychodynamic therapy is generally suited to treating issues arising in cancer treatment because it enables rapid development of the therapeutic alliance.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(5):467-474. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.stas2-1705.