Assuming rigid control over patients’ health care and subjecting them to strict regimens without offering them a choice in the matter is frank paternalism. Moreover, proceeding with an invasive test without obtaining proper informed consent is malpractice.
The AAP’s guidelines on lipid screening for children raise concerns about the fundamental purpose of prevention and its role in balancing individual autonomy with the benefits of society at large.
Society values both the appropriate use of new technological and management innovations and the maintenance of a strong personal and therapeutic relationship between patients and physicians. The medical-home model may be able to accomplish both.
Leah M. Marcotte, MD, Jeffrey Krimmel-Morrison, MD, and Joshua M. Liao, MD, MSc
Individuals can underperform in circumstances of shared accountability. In clinical settings, this is an unintended consequence of the health care sector’s complexity fragmentation.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(9):E802-807. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.802.