Clinicians must avoid violating professional ethical principles and patients’ legal rights and they may not ever discriminate. So, what does that mean in practice?
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(3):229-236. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.3.ecas4-1603.
Mark G. Kuczewski, PhD, Johana Mejias-Beck, MD, and Amy Blair, MD
Patients’ immigration concerns can be addressed when clinicians adopt a public health approach to caring: wearing buttons, distributing brochures, inviting experience sharing, and directing patients to needed resources.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(1):E78-85. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.78.
Going to so-called safety-net clinics could mean being subject to different standards of care than those in other health care delivery settings. Learners who understand social determinants of health might be able to help patients navigate the system and access community resources.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(1):E44-49. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.44.
Regularly scheduled dialysis is not standard of care for most undocumented immigrants in the United States, so preventative care, and advocacy for it, is needed.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(1):E86-92. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.86.
Clinicians can support shared decision making by assessing patients’ knowledge, eligibility for screening, and preferences for engagement—active, collaborative, or passive—in the decision making process.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(7):601-607. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.ecas1-1507.
Because health systems with high-functioning primary care services have decreased mortality and improved health outcomes, the sector can be classified as a public good, like police and fire services and public education.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(7):637-646. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.stas1-1507.
Measuring outcomes alone is not the answer. There should be a way to reward the doctor for educating a patient about lifestyle modifications and then documenting that the care provided followed patient preferences.
Harm occurs when race is used as a proxy for characteristics stereotypically ascribed to members of a group, much as the obligatory mention of age is used to indicate the typical patient’s expected health status and vitality.