Richard L. Kravitz, MD, MSPH and Jodi Halpern, MD, PhD
Patients have a responsibility to discerningly present the drug information they receive from direct-to-consumer advertising and to be active partners with their physician in making health care decisions.
Physicians are cautioned that the two obstacles to reforming post-marketing clinical trials are the FDA's reluctance to revisit past approvals and its inability to enforce pharmaceutical companies' commitment to conduct Phase IV trials.
Hospitals have a right to restrict staff privileges to board-certified physicians to enhance the quality of medical care and reputation of the hospital.
In a move towards universal HIV care, the WHO and UNAIDS have implemented a plan to make antiretroviral therapy available to 3 million HIV/AIDS victims worldwide by the end of 2005.
Laura Lin, MBA, JD and Bryan A. Liang, MD, PhD, JD
Physicians are obligated to follow the law regarding HIV reporting and contact notification in the state where they practice while also being sensitive to the impact that disclosure has on individual patients.
The stigma associated with contracting a sexually transmitted disease was originally perpetrated within the health care system as early as the 16th century and subsequently reinforced in the wider society.
A physician advocate who has taken public advocacy stances against the federal government while employed by the government talks about the conflicts that arise between medicine and politics.