A historical look at dermatological testing and the regulations that have been enacted to protect the patients who test skin care products.

A physician responds to a previous article about the differences between using a commercial laboratory and a smaller hospital or pathology group lab for dermatological tests.

There is evidence that children who are unaware of their life-threatening diagnoses do not experience any less distress and anxiety than those who are told, and in some cases they may actually experience more.

Patient-centered communication skills should be taught, practiced in simulation, and evaluated, just as technical skills are.

The American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics’ opinions on physicians’ self-referral and physicians’ sale of health-related and non-health-related products from their offices.

Undue influence, which occurs when prospective research participants who otherwise would not enroll are induced to enter studies that might pose significant risks, may also involve social injustices such as unequal payment and participant selection methods that unequally distribute the potential harms and benefits of research.

The 2015 proposed changes to the Common Rule for human subjects research protections, which are a response to novel methods of data collection and analysis, clarify and broaden the scope of informed consent processes, identify exemptions, and make changes to Institutional Review Board requirements.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Cynthia Tsay, MPhil, a second-year medical student at the Yale School of Medicine, interviewed Robert Levine, MD, about changes in clinical research guidelines, problems with IRB documentation, and the top ethical challenges facing clinical researchers today.

Instead of succumbing to the urge to portray cultural differences as a dichotomy between clashing opposites, we should endeavor to note our common humanity, acknowledge the plurality of viewpoints within a given culture, and appreciate that cultures can evolve without being untrue to themselves.

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.