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.
Although the State Children's Health Insurance Plan was enacted to provide health care to children who are uninsured or are not eligible for Medicaid, a number of factors are preventing the system from meeting the health care needs of all of the nation's children.
As health care coverage decreases and costs increase, the stage is being set for health care reform that includes adoption of a single payer health care financing plan.
Physicians need to inform parents about the limited effectiveness of growth hormone therapy in satisfying the treatment goals of children with idiopathic short stature.