A Peace Corps physician working in Africa recounts the challenges of obtaining prompt medical treatment for Trypanosomiasis and other tropical diseases in a country where emergency care is not readily available.

A case that explores the impact of financial incentives from insurance companies on the patient-physician relationship and whether or not they should be disclosed to a patient.

Many surgeons listen to music while performing surgery, a practice that should be implemented with respect to all who will be present in the operating room.

A patient recounts his experience volunteering for a clinical research study that required hospitalization for collection of several fluid and tissue specimens.

A U.S. physician relates the culture shock he is experiencing working as an area medical officer in Eastern Africa for the U.S. Peace Corps in his latest online journal entry.

Readers are referred to an article by B. Pécoul et al in a 1999 issue of JAMA to discuss what ethical duties developed countries have to ensure that essential drugs are accessible to patients in poor countries.

Little-known medical trivia.

An ethical case explores what a physician should do when a patient's health insurance will not cover a screening test for cancer despite the fact that a family history puts the patient at increased risk of developing the disease.

An ethical case explores whether it is ethically appropriate for physicians to treat their immediate family members.