The FDA's decision to put a black-box warning on antidepressant labels may be misleading because it implies that antidepressants have definitely been found to increase suicidality in adolescents, when in fact there is merely a lack of clear evidence about their safety.
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 ad hoc capacity granted underage patients to consent to certain medical services cannot be allowed to thwart the reason it is granted in the first place—to protect the health of minors.
Decision-making capacity can be preserved in patients with mental illness and should be formally assessed in the context of their values and past decisions.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(5):416-425. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.ecas1-1705.
This month, AMA Journal of Ethics' theme editor Cameron Waldman, a second-year medical student at Albany Medical College, interviewed Aron Janssen, MD, about how healthcare professionals can better serve their transgender patients.
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.
Disparities in children’s mental health care could be addressed through expansion of school-based programs via passage of the Mental Health in Schools Act.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(12):1218-1224. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.12.pfor1-1612.