Physicians are held legally responsible if patients are harmed by not receiving the care that is required, even when the restriction of that care is imposed by a third-party payor.
Physicians should help patients resolve the issue of medical debt by advocating for change in the health care system on a local and national level and implementing charity care within their offices.
Physicians have a responsibility to practice palliative medicine so they can appropriately care for their dying patients and help them achieve their end-of-life goals.
Professional, practical, clinical and cultural obligations should guide decision making when a funding agency restricts the types of counseling and advice it allows medical professionals to dispense.
Dr Kelly Gillespie joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Dr Taleed El-Sabawi: “When Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Gets Disrupted by Extra-Clinical Variables, How Should Clinicians Respond?”
Although members of the medical profession are divided on the issue of physician-assisted suicide, they should continue to responsibly advance the discourse on end-of-life care through use of the media and the policies of physician membership organizations.