Social and behavioral data contained in electronic health records are essential for studying health disparities. Can researchers avoid bias when collecting, analyzing, and using such data?
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(9):E873-880. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.873.
Adhering too strictly to biomedical thinking about diagnosis can prevent clinicians from empathically engaging with patients and helping them navigate their illness experiences.
AMA J Ethics. 2021;23(7):E537-541. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2021.537.
High reliability organizations operate in complex, high-hazard domains for extended periods without serious accidents, catastrophic failures, or ecological health threats.
AMA J Ethics. 2024;26(2):E171-178. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2024.171.
Richard L. Kravitz, MD, MSPH and Jodi Halpern, MD, PhD
Patients have a responsibility to discerningly present the drug information they receive from direct-to-consumer advertising and to be active partners with their physician in making health care decisions.
Health practitioners can help reduce health disparities if they consider the implications and affect that patients' geographical location has on their health.
The U. S. health care system encourages patients to take more responsibility for their own treatment decisions and expects their doctors to cooperate in that effort. But the guidelines for exercising that responsibility remain very murky indeed.