Some patients who need general medical care before a dental intervention can suffer increased risk for poor outcomes if they have compromised access to care.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(1):E6-12. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.6.
Preventing bad outcomes for teens and their offspring was the impetus behind confidential care for reproductive health. Requiring parental involvement created an obstacle to the provision of necessary care.
Transgender people planning a medical transition face decisions about family planning, fertility preservation, and how to access gender-affirming treatment.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(11):1119-1125. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.11.pfor2-1611.
The AMA Code of Medical Ethics' opinions on confidential care for sexually active minors and physicians' exercise of conscience in refusal of services.
A comprehensive sexual health course for medical students makes use of a variety of pedagogical methods and develops students' foundational knowledge, interviewing and communication skills, medical judgment, and respect and empathy for people different from themselves.
Some question whether plastic surgeons bear responsibility for promoting suspect norms of beauty, given that certain types of cosmetic enhancements reinforce common conceptions of normality that are harmful to society.
Physicians who have adequately informed a competent patient of his or her diagnosis, its meaning, and medically appropriate options should then accept the patient’s informed consent or refusal of treatment.