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.

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 Olivia Kates talks about appropriate use of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medically futile/inappropriate treatments and rationing have distinct ethical justifications and applications and require separate policies.

How to resolve conflicts between hospital policy and the treatment recommendations for an individual patient.

How to resolve conflicts between hospital policy and the treatment recommendations for an individual patient.

An overview of the duties of expert medical witnesses and general medical witnesses in helping the judicial system gather objective information in cases of injury that may result from medical impairment.

Argument that physicians called upon for expert testimony in court have an ethical duty to educate the jury by offering opinions based upon published, clinically based evidence and peer-reviewed medical literature.

Strategies for improving health care ethics consultation should appeal to key stakeholders in hospitals and not just the academic bioethics community.

As larger organizations become more influential in the health care sector, the Code can help physicians navigate those organizations’ influence on their practices.