Lyubov Slashcheva, Rick Rader, MD, and Stephen B. Sulkes, MD
Designation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities as a medically underserved population would not solve problems of access to care.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(4):422-429. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.4.pfor1-1604.
Trafficking-specific ICD-10-CM codes account for physical, social, and psychological dimensions of trafficked patients’ experiences. Data collected by clinicians can also motivate improvements in health policy, resource allocation, and prevention.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(12):E1143-1151. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1143.
Weyinshet Gossa, MD, MPH and Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA
Cervical cancer has become rare in high-income countries but is a leading cause of mortality among women in low- and middle-income countries. This inequity is an epidemiological tragedy.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(2):E126-134. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.126.
Dumping domestic and international health care waste into the earth’s terra firma and oceans undermine global health equity and the health of vulnerable communities.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(10):E986-993. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.986.
Forced sterilization of HIV-positive women, which is widespread in South Africa, Namibia, and Chile, violates women’s human right to autonomy and the principle of informed consent and is medically unnecessary.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(10):952-957. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.10.pfor2-1510.
Although not everything on the Choosing Wisely lists is likely to reduce low-value care, it is a good starting point for a conversation about curtailing low-value interventions.
Believing that unnecessary use of resources is a significant contributor to rising health care costs, the ABIM Foundation launched the Choosing Wisely campaign, in which physicians and patients work together to develop treatment plans that are effective for the patient but are also efficient and promote the sustainable use of limited resources.