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.
When combined with motivation to provide good care, uncertainty about how to do so for patients who are excluded from key public insurance provisions can give rise to workarounds. Their practical and ethical complexities should be recognized when considering how to best serve immigrant communities.
AMA J Ethics. 2019; 21(1):E100-105. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.100.
Ruth L. Ackah, MD, Rohini R. Sigireddi, and Bhamidipati V. R. Murthy, MD
Although undocumented immigrants contribute to the pool of available organs and to the US tax base, they are not eligible for organ transplantation in most US states.
AMA J Ethics. 2019; 21(1):E17-25. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.17.
Undocumented patients are a vulnerable population, since they often lack access to health insurance and can be afraid to present for care. This month on Ethics Talk, we discuss challenges in caring for undocumented patients with Dr. Mark Kuczewski, Scott Schweikart, and Dr. Nancy Berlinger.
William M. Hart, MD, Patricia Doerr, MD, Yuxiao Qian, MD, and Peggy M. McNaull, MD
When errors happen, too often clinicians are at odds with each other about how to respond to a patient or a patient’s loved ones after that patient suffers harm.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(4):E298-304. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.298.