As a matter of medical ethics, physicians must advocate for their vulnerable patients and medical schools should offer training in advocacy and activism.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(1):8-15. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.1.ecas1-1701.
The AAP’s guidelines on lipid screening for children raise concerns about the fundamental purpose of prevention and its role in balancing individual autonomy with the benefits of society at large.
The need for improved health care transition (HCT) for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be met with training for health care professionals, financial counseling for parents of children with ASD, and increased vocational training and opportunities for youth with ASD.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(4):342-347. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.4.pfor1-1504.
Michael J. O’Brien, MD and William P. Meehan III, MD
It is unclear whether the decreased risk of injury associated with prohibiting a teenage boy from playing football outweighs the benefits to his health and well-being of allowing him to participate.
This month, AMA Journal of Ethics' theme editor Cameron Waldman, a second-year medical student at Albany Medical College, interviewed Aron Janssen, MD, about how healthcare professionals can better serve their transgender patients.
The FDA's decision to put a black-box warning on antidepressant labels may be misleading because it implies that antidepressants have definitely been found to increase suicidality in adolescents, when in fact there is merely a lack of clear evidence about their safety.