William E. Novotny, MD and Ronald M. Perkin, MD, MA
Physicians need to understand the resources available to them to serve the sometimes conflicting needs of the pediatric patients' best interest and the religious beliefs of the patients' parents.
Physicians need to understand the resources available to them to serve the sometimes conflicting needs of the pediatric patients' best interest and the religious beliefs of the patients' parents.
David Collier, MD, PhD, Ronald M. Perkin, MD, MA, and Joseph R. Zanga, MD
The legal definitions of child neglect and child abuse are not as clear cut when faced with the issue of whether parents should be held responsible for failing to follow weight-loss plans for a morbidly obese child.
Physicians are obligated in many jurisdictions to perform life-sustaining treatments on premature infants with serious developmental or physical impairments, even if it goes against the parents' wishes.
The American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on the Family recommends that pediatricians take a more active role in helping to insure that the family environment is conducive to a child's emotional and physical well-being.
A Peace Corps physician working in Africa recounts the challenges of obtaining prompt medical treatment for Trypanosomiasis and other tropical diseases in a country where emergency care is not readily available.
Physicians can help choose technological tools to enhance end-of-life care if they carefully and specifically tailor the tools to the comfort levels and needs of each patient.
Media stories about individual cases of human suffering encourage society to bring health care to geographically remote areas by investing in telemedicine technologies.