AMA Journal of Ethics

US immigration policy contravenes the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which all United Nations member nations have ratified except the United States. The convention recognizes that children need special assistance and legal protection and prohibits deprivation of liberty.

Presenting all, including expensive, options to all patients means advocating not only for individual patients, but also for a just health care system.

Clinicians’ disclosure of their immigration status could help or undermine patient-clinician relationships. Which factors matter most?

Going to so-called safety-net clinics could mean being subject to different standards of care than those in other health care delivery settings. Learners who understand social determinants of health might be able to help patients navigate the system and access community resources.

False health-related speech can cause harm, but it’s not restricted unless it’s obscene. Physicians are obliged not only to correct patients’ false beliefs, but to engage digital spaces in which false claims thrive.

Vegan patients screened for vitamin and mineral deficiencies might benefit from supplements, but physicians are obliged to discuss lack of regulation in the supplement industry and possible risks.

Health care organizations have obligations to support all patients mothering newborns in making informed choices about formula and breast feeding.

Farmworkers can become ill due to toxic exposure in their work environments. Recommending specific restrictions, educating patients on protection strategies, and partnering with agribusiness owners and allied health workers can drive development of alternatives to agricultural practices with health risks.

Physicians can improve diets of patients who live in food deserts by providing nutrition materials, training in food preparation, and promoting nutritious food availability in communities where they practice.

Clinicians should contribute to healthful, equitable, sustainable food procurement initiatives consistent with their institutions' health-promotion missions.