The causes of many health behaviors are deeply rooted in our culture, and using a counseling model that assumes individual control and responsibility for these behaviors can cause patients to feel hectored instead of helped.
Physician gag rules in gun legislation prevent physicians from discussing health issues related to gun ownership with patients, especially parents of children.
Laura N. Gitlin, PhD and Nancy A. Hodgson, PhD, RN
As a matter of medical ethics, physicians must address the health care needs of and be advocates for family caregivers of their patients with dementia.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(12):1171-1181. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.12.ecas1-1612.
Disparities in children’s mental health care could be addressed through expansion of school-based programs via passage of the Mental Health in Schools Act.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(12):1218-1224. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.12.pfor1-1612.
Informing patients about organ donation fulfills the physician's ethical duties of beneficence, respect for autonomy, and justice. Moreover, the social contract between doctors and the public compels physicians to act in a way that promotes all persons' chances for a healthy life.
Howard Hays, MD, MSPH, Mark Carroll, MD, Stewart Ferguson, PhD, Christopher Fore, PhD, and Mark Horton, OD, MD
The Indian Health Service has been a leader in implementing telehealth programs and technologies that increase access to and efficiencies in care, particularly in the fields of mental health and ophthalmology.