Matthew William McCarthy, MD and Joseph J. Fins, MD
Hospital medicine must expand its mission to include the teaching of medical ethics, professionalism, and communication to trainees during clinical rounds.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(6):528-532. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.6.peer2-1706.
The phrase “I take Lipitor instead of a generic” was embedded in the public consciousness through an advertising campaign that featured Robert Jarvik, credited with the invention of the artificial heart.
When assessing new techniques for use with marginalized populations, it is critical to consider costs and benefits free of unexamined biases. Anything less is discriminatory and unjust.
Physician-journalists balance the ethical requirements of two professions with competing goals. Physicians must “do patients no harm ” and “keep secret” what they “see or hear”; journalists seek out and disseminate information in service of public enlightenment.
No matter where your medical career takes you, you will most likely encounter patients facing barriers to accessing health care. Everyone needs to prepare to care for underserved patients.
Erwin C. Wang, MHA, Megan Prior, Jenny M. Van Kirk, Stephen A. Sarmiento, Margaret M. Burke, MS, Christine Oh, MS, Eileen S. Moore, MD, and Stephen Ray Mitchell, MD
Policies and systems are slow to resolve structural disparities in access to insurance coverage and health care, but physicians can act now.