When patients are unable to express their wishes and do not have surrogates or advance directives, which and whose values should inform decision making for them? We discuss ethical complexities of caring for unrepresented patients.
Dr Anna L. Westermair joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Dr Manuel Trachsel: “Moral Intuitions About Futility as Prompts for Evaluating Goals in Mental Health Care.”
Dr Jonathan Treem joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article, coauthored with Drs Joel Yager and Jennifer L. Gaudiani: “A Life-Affirming Palliative Care Model for Severe and Enduring Anorexia Nervosa.”
Dr Kristen R. Choi joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Bantale Ayisire: “When Experiencing Inequitable Health Care Is a Patient’s Norm, How Should Iatrogenic Harm Be Considered?”
Dr Alexander Ding joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article, coauthored with Dr Amy B. Cadwallader and other members of the AMA Council on Science and Public Health: “Which Features of Dietary Supplement Industry, Product Trends, and Regulation Deserve Physicians’ Attention?”
AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Emily Johnson, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, interviewed Susan Mizner, JD, about some merits, drawbacks, and alternatives to guardianship.
Dr David Marcus joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article: “When, If Ever, Is It Appropriate to Regard a Patient as ‘Too Medically Complex’ for One Inpatient Service, But Not Another?”