Advertising a plastic surgery practice on social media can be ethically fraught, and deceptive online marketing techniques can lead to patients feeling betrayed.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(4):372-378. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.4.msoc2-1804.
Today’s modern trauma system is a relatively new phenomenon, and trauma surgeons are constantly responding to the changing needs of the populations they serve.
Treatment decisions in high-risk situations require a dynamic relationship between doctor and patient in which patient preferences and clinician recommendations contribute equally in shaping a final treatment decision.
Physicians working in close-knit communities, whether small towns or urban neighborhoods, have to manage relationships with people who may be simultaneously patients and neighbors, friends, and business associates.
The physician must consider the potential benefits of the new procedure and then determine, through discussion with the patient, what value the patient places on those specific benefits.
Physician report cards (PRCs) provide comparative metrics that may help physicians in making referrals, as long as the referring physician understands the PRC limitations and the inconsistencies among PRCs from different institutions and locations.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(7):608-615. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.ecas2-1507.
Withholding information from patients during an informed consent process is ethically unacceptable. Patients may restrict the amount of information they wish to receive or designate someone else to receive the information for them.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(3):209-214. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.3.ecas2-1503.