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 Paul T. Menzel joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article: "How Should Willingness-to-Pay Values of Quality-Adjusted Life-Years Be Updated and According to Whom?"

Dr Anna L. Westermair joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Dr Manuel Trachsel: “Moral Intuitions About Futility as Prompts for Evaluating Goals in Mental Health Care.”

Dr Cynthia Geppert joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article: “Is There a Case for Palliative Care Addiction Psychiatry?”

Dr Awais Aftab joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article: “What Should Clinicians Know About Palliative Psychopharmacology?”

Dr Helen Chapple joins Ethics Talk to discuss the harms of poor end-of-life care and how to avoid them.

AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Amanda Xi, MD, a transitional year resident at Henry Ford Hospital, interviewed Donald M. Berwick, MD, shortly before the Supreme Court’s decision in King versus Burwell.

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.

This month, Virtual Mentor spoke with Dr. Alex Ding and Mr. Jordan VanLare, a fourth-year medical student at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, about their impressions of health reform and how it will impact the medical practice environment they will soon enter.

Dr Ramona Fernandez joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article: “Why Prospective Bereavement Counseling Is Crucial for Peace-Finding After Loss.”