Clinicians can support shared decision making by assessing patients’ knowledge, eligibility for screening, and preferences for engagement—active, collaborative, or passive—in the decision making process.
AMA J Ethics. 2015; 17(7):601-607. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.7.ecas1-1507.
Clinicians in Catholic health care institutions cannot prescribe contraceptives for pregnancy prevention under a false diagnosis without committing fraud and contravening doctrine. Referrals are one option the authors consider for navigating patient requests for contraception.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(7):E630-636. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.630.
Although effective, opioid agonist therapy is associated with stigma and thus underutilized for treatment of opioid use disorder in incarcerated settings.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(9):922-930. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.9.stas1-1709.
Using the patient’s worldview to challenge his or her decision and establish a treatment plan—implying the view is shared by the physician when it is not—could be seen as manipulative and deceptive.
The AAP’s guidelines on lipid screening for children raise concerns about the fundamental purpose of prevention and its role in balancing individual autonomy with the benefits of society at large.
The greatest pressure to resuscitate the extremely low-birth-weight infant often results from successful marketing efforts that lead families to expect that their premature infants will be cute and healthy.
Physicians new to a case might object to an established care plan. Practice variation, clinical momentum, and how value is assigned by different parties to acute care and comfort measures can each contribute to conflict in these cases.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(8):E699-707. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.699.