AMA Journal of Ethics

Patients leaving against medical advice draw attention to intersections of tort law, federal and state regulations, and clinical ethics.

Vaping has been thought to be a safe, effective smoking cessation aid, but little evidence supports its value in mitigating tobacco use.

Empathic communication skills help motivate understanding of safety, significance of harms, impact on succeeding generations, and social consequences.

Counseling a patient about reconstructive surgery for a traumatic and disfiguring injury requires special consideration.

Clinician-researchers deeply invested in data gathering are still obliged to respect a patient-subject’s right to stop being in research.

Regulations’ negative influence on patient-physician relationships can be mitigated by innovation in decision science.

Current evidence suggests how hospice and palliative care clinicians can help advocate for high-quality, end-of-life care for patients with obesity.

The AMA Code of Medical Ethics discusses situations in which a surrogate is needed but not available to make health care decisions for a patient.

A look at current literature and work by a statewide initiative can motivate development of policies that help respond to unrepresented patients’ needs.

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.