Legacy patients are so-called because their opioid use behaviors express past, aggressive opioid prescribing by a clinician. Managing their pain and dependence justly is ethically complex.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(8):E651-657. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.651.
Madeleine (Maddy) Kane, Rachel Bervell, MD, MS, Angela Y. Zhang, MD, and Jennifer Tsai, MD, MEd
Algorithms use race as an epidemiological shorthand, but clinically influential historical, social, and cultural determinants of health are still sources of variability.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(8):E720-728. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.720.
Monitoring surgeons’ capacities over time are rooted in professional duties to protect patients’ safety. Aging surgeons should undergo assessments and be encouraged to stop practicing before their diminished skill becomes too risky.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(10):986-992. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.10.ecas2-1610.