We currently have no simple test of any kind that tells us whether someone has pain, but there is reason to be optimistic that brain imaging that can contribute to evaluation of pain may be within our grasp.
When deciding whether a pregnant woman will take antidepressants that pose a slight risk to the fetus, the patient and doctor must each make value-based determinations about whether absolute protection of the fetus is more important than preventing the mother’s probable suffering.
Rachel O. Reid, MD, MS and Ateev Mehrotra, MD, MPH
An effective policy regarding retail clinics in a primary care practice should address patients' need for timely and convenient acute care and build capacity for enhanced access to acute care within the primary care clinic itself.
Psychodynamic therapy is generally suited to treating issues arising in cancer treatment because it enables rapid development of the therapeutic alliance.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(5):467-474. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.stas2-1705.
Krishna Lynch, RN, MJ, CPHRM and Rita F. Morris, RN, MJ
Court decisions on nurse liability draw a fine line between failing to take action in the patient’s best interest and advocating for patients in an uncollaborative manner.
Two trends in medicine are altering what patients expect from their doctors and nurses and what doctors and nurses of both sexes now expect from each other.
Thomas W. LeBlanc, MD, MA, MHS and Arif H. Kamal, MD, MBA, MHS
Clinical trials should assess patients’ distress and test interventions to address it, just as they assess adverse events and test novel therapeutic agents.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(5):460-466. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.stas1-1705.
Research is needed to understand mental health effects of cancer at diagnosis, throughout treatment and the post-treatment phases, and in survivorship.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(5):486-492. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.msoc2-1705.
“Difficult” patient encounters can be exacerbated by procedural and technological infrastructure that increases access to electronic health records (EHRs).
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(4):374-380. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.4.stas1-1704.