Antibiotics can be compared to other forms of “tragedy of the commons,” whereby a common good (effective treatment of infections) is jeopardized by individual consumption and lack of stewardship.

Paternalistic language in patients’ health records is of specific ethical concern because it emphasizes clinicians’ power and patients’ vulnerabilities and can be demeaning and traumatizing.

Therapeutic security in inpatient psychiatric settings requires careful planning and implementation if it is to support both patients’ safety and dignity.

Iatrogenic harms of so-called “zero-risk” approaches must be balanced against promoting patients’ goals of care.

Patients’ vulnerabilities and conditions can be exacerbated when they feel bored.

Inpatient psychiatric units are designed around the twin aims of treatment and containment, but emotional norms and tone also contribute to care environments.

Health care professionals’ use of social media can pose ethical challenges related to the boundary between professional and personal identities, privacy, confidentiality, and the trustworthiness of health care professionals.

Transplant physicians must respect indecisive patients’ autonomy while continuing to educate them during their progress towards transplantation.

Although the Affordable Care Act represents a step toward realizing the right to health in reducing the number of uninsured, a right to health encompasses the social factors that determine health on a population scale.

The price transparency movement seeks to make actual medical costs clear to patients and clinicians.