Clinicians have an ethical obligation to promote health equity in their communities. This month, we discuss how clinicians worked to expose the water crisis in Flint, and explore ways that clinicians can combat systemic injustice and promote health equity.
AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor James Aluri, a third-year medical student at Johns Hopkins University, interviewed Dr. Autumn Fiester, PhD, about strategies for defusing “difficult” patient-clinician relationships.
Trauma surgeons’ role in gun violence prevention is hampered by restrictions on funding for research with implications for public health interventions.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(5):475-482. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.5.msoc1-1805.
Gene editing to enhance humans’ adaptability to climate change should consider safety, harm to be averted, succeeding generations, and social consequences.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(12):1186-1192. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.12.stas1-1712.
Lauren C. Nigro, MD, Michael J. Feldman, MD, Robin L. Foster, MD, and Andrea L. Pozez, MD
Suspected child abuse cases can be identified and repeat hospitalizations of such cases prevented using multidisciplinary teams to evaluate pediatric burns.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(6):552-559. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.6.org1-1806.
Although effective, opioid agonist therapy is associated with stigma and thus underutilized for treatment of opioid use disorder in incarcerated settings.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(9):922-930. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.9.stas1-1709.
Although sharing health records with psychiatric patients may cause harm, clinicians also must consider beneficence and autonomy in making this decision.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(3):253-259. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.3.ecas3-1703.
After the infant’s birth, the neonatologist’s first duty is to his or her patient—the newly born infant. If clinical circumstances are different than anticipated, the physician must first consider the best interests of the baby.