Dr Travis Rieder discusses his own experiences with opioids and the ethical challenges of “legacy patients,” and Dr Stephanie Zaza, president of the American College of Preventive Medicine, discusses the future of opioid research priorities.
Barry DeCoster, PhD and Lisa Campo-Engelstein, PhD
Expedited partner therapy is an ethical and effective treatment for sexually transmitted infection, provided patients are reliable messengers to partners.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(3):215-228. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.3.ecas3-1603.
Camillo Lamanna, MMathPhil, MBBS and Lauren Byrne, MBBS
Perhaps machine learning systems trained on patients’ electronic health records and social media footprints could be used as decision aids when patients lack capacity or face overwhelming decisions.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(9):E902-910. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.902.
Annette Hanson, MD, Ron Pies, MD, and Mark Komrad, MD
Authors respond to “How Should Physicians Care for Dying Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis?” by arguing that patients’ motives for accessing death with dignity laws should be thoroughly explored and that temporarily limiting patient autonomy can promote well-being at the end of life.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(11):E1107-1109. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1107.
Alexander Craig, MPhil and Elizabeth Dzeng, MD, PhD, MPH
Responding to “Added Points of Concern about Caring for Dying Patients,” authors argue that physicians’ refusal to prescribe lethal drugs in accordance with states’ death with dignity laws could damage patient-physician relationships and harm patients.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(11):E1110-1112. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1110.
Jane Bartels, MBBS and Christopher J. Ryan, MBBS, MHL
When patients cannot give informed consent or refusal for antipsychotic medication, physicians must meet specific criteria to justify temporarily withholding a diagnosis.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(12):E1119-1125. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1119.
Elder self-neglect can be assessed with the Elder Self-Neglect Assessment (ESNA) and addressed by physicians’ partnering with patients to achieve common goals.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(10):1047-1050. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.10.corr2-1710.
Georgina Morley, PhD, MSc, RN and Annie Sharon Fox, MA
This series of 3 paintings of figures in a bath explores emotional responses of persons experiencing or responding to others’ moral distress. Intricately tied together and connected through time and space, the bodies represented suggest a complex web of relationships between clinicians and patients.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(5):E457-460. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.457.