Bruce C. Vladeck, PhD, Sander Florman, MD, and Jonathan Cooper, JD
The United Network for Organ Sharing’s geographic allocation system is outdated and inequitable, particularly in light of improved ability to transport organs. Allocation should be based on common medical criteria, not accidents of geography.
Daphne C. Ferrer, MD and Peter M. Yellowlees, MBBS, MD
Telepsychiatry extends access to psychiatric treatment to those who might not otherwise get it, but licensure problems and the risk of boundary violations between patients and physicians need to be worked out.
A survey suggests that there is broad consensus among physicians about the importance of honesty with patients, but there is variation in physicians' behavior in disclosing certain information to patients.
The American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards’ guidelines for online medical professionalism apply existing norms of communication and confidentiality to new settings but will need to be modified in light of technological advances and unanswered questions.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(5):441-447. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.5.nlit1-1505.
Physicians should not only avoid forming personal relationships with drug reps but must also acquire and apply numeracy skills and information management strategies to critically evaluating drug reps’ information.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(8):729-733. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.8.ecas1-1508.
In the September 2014 issue on physicians as agents of social change, Dr. Audiey Kao, editor-in-chief of Virtual Mentor interviewed Dr. Rajiv Shah, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development or USAID.
Concerns about the deleterious effects of stress on the mind and body have led to the beginnings of a stress vaccine, an injection that will reduce these effects.