When a patient requests an unfamiliar treatment, the physician should not hesitate to research it before giving a categorical reply about its safety or efficacy.
Jessie Kimbrough-Sugick, MD, MPH, Jessica Holzer, MA, and Eric B. Bass, MD, MPH
Researchers who approach community partners with an agenda already in hand are missing the point of the community-based participatory research enterprise: developing priorities for study together.
Nontherapeutic infant male circumcision is not medically or ethically justifiable and should be deferred until the person is able to decide for himself.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(8):815-824. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708.
Stephen T. Miller, MD and Rexann G. Pickering, PhD, CIP, RN
Investigators must determine whether patient consent forms for medical care include the provision that registries for patients with particular medical conditions may be made or electronic data searches may be performed.
This case invites us to think about the real and potential risks that surgeons pose to patients. The risk of HIV acquisition from an infected surgeon appears much lower than the risk of nosocomial bacterial infections, even those with lethal potential.
Those who care for adolescents must advocate for timely disclosure of HIV diagnosis since the negative effects of late disclosure include social isolation, anxiety, loss of trust, and depression.
The guidelines for patients’ eligibility for bariatric surgery have not changed since 1991, although recent data suggest there may be indications for broadening application of the surgery.