AMA Journal of Ethics

Changes made in 2017 to the World Medical Association Physician’s Pledge strive to keep in step with geopolitical trends by addressing patient autonomy and collegiality.

The AMA Code of Medical Ethics offers guidance on stewardship and professionalism.

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

Safeguards are urgently needed for assessments of what constitutes appropriate care for unaccompanied minors in US detention facilities.

A UPAC is an alternative to engaging a guardianship court appointment process or to using physicians or ethics committees as decision makers.

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.