Dr Jennifer Aldrich joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Jessica Kant and Eric Gramszlo: “Gender-Affirming Care, Incarceration, and the Eighth Amendment.”
Is it ethical for a psychiatrist to monitor a patient’s blog without the patient’s permission? If so, what information from the blog is suitable for entry in the patient’s medical record?
The American Psychiatric Association proscribes its members from commenting on the mental health of public figures under its nonbinding “Goldwater Rule,” which followed a published survey of more than 1,000 psychiatrists commenting on Barry Goldwater’s emotional fitness for the presidency.
Recommendation for induced lactation in nonbiological mothers is widespread in the medical literature. To resist offering the service for nongestating lesbian mothers bespeaks potential discrimination.
The communication gulf is not only one of language, but also one of culture, understood broadly. And, despite the priority of medical concerns, every effort should be made to obtain consent consistent with appropriate care.