An ethical case that was eventually decided in the US Supreme Court involves the right of patients to request an independent third-party review if their HMO refuses to authorize treatments or procedures deemed medically necessary.
The concept of professionalism in medicine has been expanded over the years to cover a broad set of ideas about everyday behavior and habits of physicians.
The journal editor compares the medical school experience to the structure and functioning of a family, with the behavior of one reflecting on the whole.
An ethical case concerns a 16-year-old girl suffering from systemic scleroderma with a poor prognosis and her father's cultural beliefs, which do not allow for discussions about end-of-life care.