When patients are unable to express their wishes and do not have surrogates or advance directives, which and whose values should inform decision making for them? We discuss ethical complexities of caring for unrepresented patients.

State laws often require physicians to report suspected abuse and assault, creating a dilemma for physicians who must not only treat the injured patient but act as an informant to police.

The physician’s duty extends beyond treating individual patients to reporting public health threats when they are identified.

The physician’s duty extends beyond treating individual patients to reporting public health threats when they are identified.

A look at current literature and work by a statewide initiative can motivate development of policies that help respond to unrepresented patients’ needs.

Several recent court cases illustrate how some states are attempting to mandate physician reporting of all underage sexual activity as instances of child abuse.

Physicians have a professional obligation and, in many states, a legal duty to report drivers whose functional or cognitive impairments may pose a safety hazard.

To combat the rising incidence of type 2 diabetes, New York City requires laboratories with electronic reporting capacity to upload data on hemoglobin A1c measurements to a city department of health registry.