Legacy patients are so-called because their opioid use behaviors express past, aggressive opioid prescribing by a clinician. Managing their pain and dependence justly is ethically complex.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(8):E651-657. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.651.
Jennifer D. Byrne, LCSW, CADC, Katie S. Clancy, MSW, and Isabell Ciszewski, LCSW
Social work perspectives on whether prescribers should authorize opioid refills emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to patient self-determination.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(8):E658-663. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.658.
Considering chronic opioid use when planning elective surgery would likely enhance team communication, decrease stigma, and facilitate care transitioning and long-term planning.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(8):E664-667. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.664.
A 3-step analgesic ladder was introduced in 1986 and needs change. Surgical interventions could reduce opioid use and motivate expansion of current pain management approaches.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(8):E695-701. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.695.
Most physicians schedule out months in advance, requiring their patients to cope with their condition until their appointment and risk their suffering becoming discredited.
AMA J Ethics. 2022; 24(12):E1181-1182. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.1181.
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.”