Dr. Jones has a duty to determine how the test results were lost and why, disclose this information to his patient, Mrs. Taylor, and see that she is not held responsible for the costs of rerunning the test.
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.
When a child or family begins to stand out because of patterns in history or physical findings, physicians must determine whether to take a closer look at the situation.
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.