Dr Travis Rieder discusses his own experiences with opioids and the ethical challenges of “legacy patients,” and Dr Stephanie Zaza, president of the American College of Preventive Medicine, discusses the future of opioid research priorities.
Farmworkers can become ill due to toxic exposure in their work environments. Recommending specific restrictions, educating patients on protection strategies, and partnering with agribusiness owners and allied health workers can drive development of alternatives to agricultural practices with health risks.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(10):E932-940. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.932.
Professional society guidelines can be used to set standards for clinical practice instead of government. This approach could help if federal or state policymakers view discarding embryos as ethically equivalent to abortion.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(12):E1160-1167. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1160.
Rachel Koch, MD, John G. Meara, MD, DMD, MBA, and Anji E. Wall, MD, PhD
Single-procedure interventions with minimal follow-up and clear quality-of-life gain are well suited for surgical mission trips. But not all risks and benefits are easily assessed.
AMA J Ethics. 2019; 21(9):E729-734. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.729.
How do we determine what a fair price for a life-saving prescription medication should be? This month, we discuss what is means for a price to be “fair” and explore the current legal and economic landscape of prescription drug pricing in the US.
Sara Silbert, MD, Gregory A. Yanik, MD, and Andrew G. Shuman, MD
“Living” drugs target specific B-cell malignancy tumor antigens, but cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Value analysis can help determine whether to offer these customized drugs.
AMA J Ethics. 2019; 21(10):E844-851. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.844.
Some patients who have been injured or had back or lower extremity surgery while incarcerated require temporary use of a wheelchair. At times, getting these inmates to return to the general ambulatory population can be a challenge.