Good design can help transform health care, in part because it involves drawing on a wide range of perspectives and experiences. This month, we talked with a health care designer, a patient advocate, and a physician to learn how “design thinking” can be successfully incorporated into health care systems and applications.

Scott Schweikart joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article: “AMA Code of Medical Ethics’ Opinions Related to Clinicians in Government.”

In the September 2014 issue on physicians as agents of social change, Dr. Audiey Kao, editor-in-chief of Virtual Mentor interviewed Dr. Rajiv Shah, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development or USAID.

The adverse health effects of climate change should be the focus of physician advocacy efforts and of conversations between physicians and their patients.

Physicians need to become more involved in the public debate regarding issues of medicine, science, and evolution.

Questions about data privacy need to be addressed when research institutions negotiate with companies developing mobile health applications. Commercial terms of use and data sharing notifications should be reviewed before use in human subject research settings.

Physicians should take part in public health advocacy to improve health care for all patients.

Baby boomers are different from the generations that preceded them. They are more savvy, assertive, health-conscious, and engaged in their care.

Smartphone- and tablet-based medical devices and apps have significant potential to affect the patient-clinician relationship and improve the efficiency of the health care system.

For patients to adopt personal health records, they must be convinced of the value the technology has for them. Framing that value in a way that actively engages patients as collaborators in their health care management will not only empower the individual but improve patient-clinician relationships overall.