Diagnostic utility of weight and body mass index is widely overestimated, and their use as health and wellness measures can be sources of iatrogenic harm.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(7):E540-544. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.540.
While useful in analyzing population trends in relative body weight, BMI possesses multiple shortcomings when used as an individualized health screening tool.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(7):E545-549. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.545.
Dr Ximena Lopez joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Antonio D. Garcia: “How Cisgender Clinicians Can Help Prevent Harm During Encounters With Transgender Patients.”
Dr Vaishali Phatak joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Dr Mary Perkinson and Meghan K. Ramirez: “Leveraging Cross-Campus Expertise to Contribute to Dementia Care Through Music.”
AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Subha Perni, MD, a recent graduate of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, interviewed Elizabeth Epstein, PhD, RN, about strategies for understanding and address moral distress in clinical settings.
The clinician/healer must both address the disease and seek to know how the medical condition is being experienced by the patient—what impact it has on his or her life and spirit.