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Show Codes, Slow Codes, Full Codes, or No Codes: What Is a Doctor to Do? CME / ABIM MOC
A show code, even with patient/family consent, undermines patient autonomy, patient-physician relationships, and professional integrity.
April 25, 2023
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When Resources Are Limited During a Public Health Catastrophe: Nondiscrimination and Ethical Allocation Guidance CME / ABIM MOC
In a pandemic, basic ethical principles are a duty to care for all and to provide the best care to maximize the number who will recover.
February 23, 2023
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Patient Prejudice? The Patient Said What?... and What Comes Next CME / ABIM MOC
Physicians must treat patients with respect and serve patient welfare and best interests; but physicians should also be treated with respect.
November 15, 2022
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Ethics, Electronic Health Record Integrity and the Patient-Physician Relationship CME / ABIM MOC
Electronic health records (EHRs) are used routinely in health care but can pose ethical concerns when completed inaccurately, even with the goal of serving the patient’s welfare.
February 16, 2021
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Ethics, Professionalism, and the Physician Social Media Influencer CME / ABIM MOC
Physicians must take care on social media, extending ethical standards from the clinic to online activities, and not promote themselves and health-related or other products, including for personal gain.
December 18, 2020
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Pandemic Treatment Resource Allocation Ethics and Nondiscrimination
While prioritizing resources during a pandemic, physicians should fulfill the duty to care using clinical criteria, with fairness, equality, and nondiscrimination.
August 20, 2020
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Professional Attire and the Patient-Physician Relationship CME / ABIM MOC
Physician attire is an easily modified aspect of overall presentation that can reflect professionalism and respect, support professional boundaries, and enhance patient trust and confidence.
February 21, 2020
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When the Family Caregiver Is a Physician: Negotiating the Ethical Boundaries CME / ABIM MOC
Physician family/caregivers may use their knowledge to help family navigate the health system, interpret clinical data, and serve as patient advocates, but they should not be the treating physician.
February 21, 2020
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“Doctor, Can’t You Just Phone a Prescription In?” and Other Ethical Challenges of Telemedicine Encounters CME / ABIM MOC
Telemedicine encounters should support ethical high-value care and be based in the exercise of appropriate clinician judgment while protecting the best interests and privacy of patients.
October 17, 2019
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Serving as an Expert Witness: Is there a Duty? CME
As members of a profession with specialized knowledge and expertise, physicians have a duty to serve as an expert witness, but they must be qualified and act within appropriate guidelines and review.
June 04, 2019
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Confidentiality and Privacy: Beyond HIPAA to Honey, Can We Talk?
Physicians should generally not disclose information heard and seen in the course of care, limiting discussion of patient information to professional encounters. In limited circumstances, it may be possible to ethically justify a disclosure of de-identified information about a patient that does not violate privacy rules if done with great caution and respect for the patient and his or her story.
June 08, 2018
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Secret Recordings of Office Visits by Patients
Secret recording of office visits by patients can raise concerns about privacy and confidentiality, and affect trust, respect, and the patient-physician relationship.
November 09, 2017
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Addressing a Colleague's Unprofessional Behavior During Sign-Out
Respect, teamwork, professional integrity, and self-regulation are essential to the practice of medicine, as seen in a case study involving improper sign-out and derogatory comments about a patient.
July 26, 2017
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Patient Requests for Specific Care: 'Surely You Can Explain to My Insurer That I Need Boniva?'
How should a physician respond when a patient requests a specific medication? The current review explores this important issue.
June 21, 2016
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Maintaining Medical Professionalism Online: Posting of Patient Information
An ACP Ethics case history and commentary discuss ethical questions regarding patient privacy and confidentiality, as well as the moral and ethical development of physicians-in-training in the handling of patient information.
January 26, 2016
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Banning Harmful Health Behaviors as a Condition of Employment: Where There's Smoke There's Fired?
An institutional policy of not hiring smokers creates ethical tension between individual rights and measures to improve public health, which may impact the patient-physician relationship.
August 12, 2015
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Addressing a Colleague's Sexually Explicit Facebook Post
Sexually suggestive or inappropriate social media postings by physicians may damage professional integrity, create a negative team culture and affect public trust, and warrant corrective measures.
June 09, 2015
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Wellness Programs and Patient Goals of Care
The ACP supports evidence-based wellness programs, including positive incentives, to foster healthy behaviors but warns that they may penalize individuals for conditions beyond their control.
December 08, 2014
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Resident Duty Hours: To Hand Over or Gloss Over?
Are violations of resident work hours a problem when patient care is at stake? The current case and discussion highlight this difficult subject.
May 13, 2014
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Stewardship of Health Care Resources: Responding to a Patient’s Request for Antibiotics
How should physicians respond to requests by patients for medical treatment that may not be appropriate? The current study examines this difficult question from an ethical perspective.
December 27, 2013
