In a study of New York physicians' compliance with reporting of communicable diseases, surveyed physicians responded better to legal warnings than to requests that explained public health benefits.
The American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on the Family recommends that pediatricians take a more active role in helping to insure that the family environment is conducive to a child's emotional and physical well-being.
Medical ethicists have discussed the use of race classification in determining disease prevalence and the response of specific ethnic groups to different medications.