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.
Changes made in 2017 to the World Medical Association Physician’s Pledge strive to keep in step with geopolitical trends by addressing patient autonomy and collegiality.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(9):E796-800. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.796.
Peter Ellis, MD, MPH and Lydia S. Dugdale, MD, MAR
Presenting all, including expensive, options to all patients means advocating not only for individual patients, but also for a just health care system.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(1):E26-31. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.26.
Going to so-called safety-net clinics could mean being subject to different standards of care than those in other health care delivery settings. Learners who understand social determinants of health might be able to help patients navigate the system and access community resources.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(1):E44-49. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.44.
US immigration policy contravenes the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which all United Nations member nations have ratified except the United States. The convention recognizes that children need special assistance and legal protection and prohibits deprivation of liberty.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(1):E58-66. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.58.
Haley Moulton, Benjamin Moulton, JD, MPH, Tim Lahey, MD, MMSc, and Glyn Elwyn, MD, PhD, MSc
Shared decision making in research informed consent conversations is complex due to diverse and potentially divergent interests of investigators and patient-subjects.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(5):E365-371. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.365.
Drs Katrina Bramstedt and Ana Iltis discuss the development of QoL assessment tools to help patient-subjects considering reconstructive transplantation.
As larger organizations become more influential in the health care sector, the Code can help physicians navigate those organizations’ influence on their practices.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(3):E217-220. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.217.