A 15-year-old advance directive made when the patient was in much better health and not updated can bring more confusion than clarity to the decision-making process.
Decision-making capacity can be preserved in patients with mental illness and should be formally assessed in the context of their values and past decisions.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(5):416-425. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.ecas1-1705.
B. Rashmi Borah, Nicolle K. Strand, JD, MBioethics, and Kata L. Chillag, PhD
The Bioethics Commission’s recommendations to include research participants with impaired consent capacity provide an ethical foundation for neuroscience.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(12):1192-1198. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.12.nlit1-1612.
Medical specialty boards improve the quality and safety of health care, but they can overreach, and their board members express disapproval of board action by petition and through legal action.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(3):193-198. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.3.spec1-1503.
The Anesthesiology Quality Institute contributes both to local quality improvement in the practice of anesthesiology through data collection and establishment of benchmarks and to patient safety in partnership with the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(3):248-252. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.3.pfor1-1503.
Survey of faculty physicians at the University of Pennsylvania led to a list of proposals for health care reforms beyond those included in the Affordable Care Act.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(7):680-688. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.sect2-1507.