When patients are unable to express their wishes and do not have surrogates or advance directives, which and whose values should inform decision making for them? We discuss ethical complexities of caring for unrepresented patients.
Dr Travis Rieder discusses his own experiences with opioids and the ethical challenges of “legacy patients,” and Dr Stephanie Zaza, president of the American College of Preventive Medicine, discusses the future of opioid research priorities.
Kim Christiansen discusses her experiences managing limited mobility and chronic pain from a partial spinal cord injury and Dr Natalie Hoff describes good physical therapy care for patients with chronic migraine headaches.
Dr Liam G. McCoy joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article, coauthored with Drs Zainab Doleeb, Jazleen Dada, and Catherine Allaire: “Underrecognition of Dysmenorrhea Is an Iatrogenic Harm.”
AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Karel-Bart Celie, a second-year medical student at Columbia University School of Medicine, interviewed Joseph J. Fins, MD, about the work of ethics committees and consultants as they pursue professionalization and respond to changes in health care organization and practice.
Dr Katherin M. Duthie joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Dr Kathryn A. Dong: “How Should Risks and Benefits of Short-Acting Opioids Be Evaluated in the Care of Inpatients With OUD?”
Dr Ellen L. Edens joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Drs Gabriela Garcia Vassallo and Robert Heimer: "How Should the Use of Opioids Be Regulated to Motivate Better Clinical Practice?”