Annette Hanson, MD, Ron Pies, MD, and Mark Komrad, MD
Authors respond to “How Should Physicians Care for Dying Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis?” by arguing that patients’ motives for accessing death with dignity laws should be thoroughly explored and that temporarily limiting patient autonomy can promote well-being at the end of life.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(11):E1107-1109. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1107.
Alexander Craig, MPhil and Elizabeth Dzeng, MD, PhD, MPH
Responding to “Added Points of Concern about Caring for Dying Patients,” authors argue that physicians’ refusal to prescribe lethal drugs in accordance with states’ death with dignity laws could damage patient-physician relationships and harm patients.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(11):E1110-1112. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1110.
Workplace wellness programs contribute to the wellness movement by enlisting nontraditional health partners and influencing social determinants of health.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(4):393-398. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.4.nlit1-1604.
Elizabeth Hutchinson, MD, Vanessa Kerry, MD, MSc, and Sadath Sayeed, MD, JD
Guidelines are needed to help ensure that trainee, institutional, and faculty engagement in global health is ethically appropriate and mutually beneficial for all involved.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(9):E759-765. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.759.
Instead of trying to reduce the number of people who have access to a patient's medical record by quarantining information, hospitals should explain the current meaning of confidentiality to patients as part of the informed consent process.
Determining the severity of a breach of medical privacy, and therefore whether or not it will be reported to the US Department of Health and Human Services, by the patient's reaction puts the hospital's interest in avoiding reporting breaches above the patient's best interests.