Victims of sexual violence who are minors should not be forced to submit to a rape kit exam against their wishes since it might retraumatize the patient.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(1):36-43. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.ecas2-1801.
Preventing bad outcomes for teens and their offspring was the impetus behind confidential care for reproductive health. Requiring parental involvement created an obstacle to the provision of necessary care.
After assessing the reasons for a patient’s unrealistic hopefulness in the face of clear understanding, a clinician may believe that significant harm will come to the patient if he or she does not acknowledge the seriousness of the illness.
Kimberly R. Myers, MA, PhD and Michael D.F. Goldenberg, MA
Graphic pathographies can facilitate physicians’ empathy with patients during informed consent and end-of-life conversations and promote patient education.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(2):158-166. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.2.medu2-1802.
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.