Limiting the right of patients to make their own medical decisions can be justified only when a patient lacks the competence to do so or pose a threat to others.
Health care policy changes are needed to minimize the risk to physicians responding to public health emergencies and aid in their longer-term responsibility of protecting and promoting the nation's health.
Physicians should use evidence-based guidelines as a starting point to make sound clinical treatment decisions for a patient's individual medical needs.
Physicians should use evidence-based guidelines as a starting point to make sound clinical treatment decisions for a patient's individual medical needs.
Physicians should use evidence-based guidelines as a starting point to make sound clinical treatment decisions for a patient's individual medical needs.
Many public health officials are calling for mandatory vaccination against smallpox for all emergency medical workers, but the possibility of adverse reactions to the vaccine raises questions of compensation for those injured.
While some argue that live footage of emergency room treatment is beneficial to the general public, the AMA's Code of Medical Ethics states that such taping is a violation of patient privacy and patient confidentiality.
Performing a pelvic exam without consent on an anesthetized woman, even for teaching purposes, is unethical and considered sexual battery in some jurisdictions.