The words doctors write can have far-reaching consequences, particularly legal ones, for their patients. This article will help physicians understand the power of diagnosis in one area where their counsel is often sought—social security disability determination.
You are not just the rural patient’s doctor, you are the doctor for the football team, a friend, and perhaps a relative; you speak on health at local schools and are expected to attend fundraisers.
Assigning community based on race suggests that phenotype reveals something consistent about biology that is equal in standing to factors like weight, dietary habits, smoking history, and whether or not you had rheumatic fever as a child.
Forced migration of Pacific Islanders raises ethical issues of health and health care disparities, which are examined in the case of Tuvaluan immigrants.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(12):1211-1221. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.12.imhl1-1712.
Diagnosing a child with borderline signs of Asperger disorder can be a gateway to needed interventions and services and also a label that stigmatizes or influences the child’s development.
This month, Virtual Mentor spoke with Dr. Catherine Belling about the power of diagnosis and how it can change the way we view ourselves, others, and the world around us.
Alysse Gail Wurcel, MD, MS, Jacinda C. Abdul-Mutakabbir, PharmD, MPH, Shira Doron, MD, Christina Yen, MD, and Justin Berk, MD, MPH, MBA
Antimicrobial resistance is a global threat that inequitably affects minoritized populations, including Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people, especially in carceral settings.
AMA J Ethics. 2024;26(5):E399-407. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2024.399.