The meaning of “disability” has shifted with US public policy changes over time. People with disability are protected under civil rights law, and open questions remain about whether and when policy-level interventions and reasonable accommodations create equal opportunity.

Overriding a proxy decision maker’s refusal of medication for a psychotic patient is justified when the patient poses a danger to himself or others.

This commentary on a case considers moral reasons to adopt a palliative approach to the care of some psychiatric patients.

Uncertainty about which psychiatric interventions are palliative stems from psychiatry’s prioritization of symptom management regardless of diagnosis. 

This commentary on a case considers the course of a palliative approach to care of a patient with a serious and persistent mental illness.

Treatment-resistant schizophrenia can create a high disease burden for some patients, making it hard to get good outcomes.

Futility can function as a moral counterweight to a duty to treat, helping clinicians  find balance between over- and undertreatment. 

Kathleen Wong joins Ethics Talk to discuss her comic: “Lit, Unread, Unrested.” 

Dr Zachary G. Jacobs joins Ethics Talk to discuss his comic: “Isolation, Connection, and Learning to Slow Down.”

 

This commentary on a case considers whether and to what extent refusal to care for patients insured by Medicare is a form of turfing.