Caregiver trustworthiness and a competent patient’s prerogative to return to suboptimal living conditions are critical considerations in discharge planning.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(6):506-510. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.6.ecas2-1506.
Fabian M. Saleh, MD and H. Martin Malin, PhD, MA, LMFT
In treating patients whose sexual fantasies do not trigger an immediate legal duty to report, psychiatrists must be vigilant for signs that the patient intends to act on a fantasy.
The legal definition of a patient and the corresponding duties of the physician have been debated in state courts for over a century, and many aspects of the question are still unresolved.
Katrina A. Bramstedt, PhD and Francis L. Delmonico, MD
Transplant centers cannot regulate how people establish relationships, but when a donor-recipient pair comes together through Internet solicitation, the center must assess the donor’s motivations carefully.
Industrialized nations could benefit from strategies emerging in developing nations such as respectful collaboration between traditional out-of-hospital birthing practices and maternity units in partnering hospitals.
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.
The Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) seeks to build trusting relationships with patients before addressing their medical needs and to take account of their surrounding environment in treatment.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(5):469-472. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.5.mnar2-1505.
Erin P. Williams, MBE and Jennifer K. Walter, MD, PhD, MS
Undue influence, which occurs when prospective research participants who otherwise would not enroll are induced to enter studies that might pose significant risks, may also involve social injustices such as unequal payment and participant selection methods that unequally distribute the potential harms and benefits of research.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(12):1116-1121. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.12.ecas2-1512.
The 2015 proposed changes to the Common Rule for human subjects research protections, which are a response to novel methods of data collection and analysis, clarify and broaden the scope of informed consent processes, identify exemptions, and make changes to Institutional Review Board requirements.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(12):1147-1151. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.12.hlaw1-1512.