Clinicians tend to view obesity as a disease, while members of the body positivity movement value their bodies as they are. Should clinicians treat obesity as a disease in patients who don’t see themselves as ill?
A guardian’s request to sterilize a woman with intellectual disabilities is not ethically justifiable unless the woman assents and it is to her benefit.
Women who are pregnant might not treat their mental illnesses because they overestimate risks of medication and underestimate risks of leaving their illness untreated.
Shared decision making honors patient autonomy, particularly for preference-sensitive care decisions and even when patients have impaired decision-making capacity.
Haley Moulton, Benjamin Moulton, JD, MPH, Tim Lahey, MD, MMSc, and Glyn Elwyn, MD, PhD, MSc
Shared decision making in research informed consent conversations is complex due to diverse and potentially divergent interests of investigators and patient-subjects.
Shared decision making is practically difficult to implement in mental health practice but remains an ethical ideal for motivating therapeutic capacity.
As larger organizations become more influential in the health care sector, the Code can help physicians navigate those organizations’ influence on their practices.