When combined with motivation to provide good care, uncertainty about how to do so for patients who are excluded from key public insurance provisions can give rise to workarounds. Their practical and ethical complexities should be recognized when considering how to best serve immigrant communities.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(1):E100-105. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.100.
Regularly scheduled dialysis is not standard of care for most undocumented immigrants in the United States, so preventative care, and advocacy for it, is needed.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(1):E86-92. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.86.
Unclear regulations and informal data gathering on immigrants who receive or donate organs can cause mistrust and suspicion of the organ allocation system and affect donation rates.
One of the major driving forces for migration by women is the availability of caregiving work in wealthier nations, so improving working conditions for migrant women and ensuring that elderly and other persons in need of care receive good care are intertwined goals.
Amidst discussions of how to maximize physician contributions in high-risk disaster situations, the author asks if doctors are actually duty-bound to contribute at all.
Health care policy changes are needed to minimize the risk to physicians responding to public health emergencies and aid in their longer-term responsibility of protecting and promoting the nation's health.