Ethics Opinions

A placebo is a substance provided to a patient that the physician believes has no specific pharmacological effect on the condition being treated. In the clinical setting, the use of a placebo without the patient’s knowledge may undermine trust, compromise the patient-physician relationship, and result in medical harm to the patient.

Physicians have an ethical obligation to be considerate of patient concerns and anxieties and ensure that patients receive test results within a reasonable time frame.

Physicians have a responsibility to protect the confidentiality of minor patients, within certain limits. In some jurisdictions, the law permits unemancipated minors to request and receive confidential services relating to: contraception, pregnancy testing, prenatal care, delivery services and care to prevent, diagnose, or treat sexually transmitted disease, substance use disorders, or mental illness.

In many jurisdictions, unemancipated minors are not permitted to request or receive abortion services without their parents’ (or guardian’s) knowledge and consent. As such, when minors seek abortion care, this may create a conflict between the value of confidentiality and the legal obligation to obtain parental consent.

Decisions not to initiate care or to discontinue an intervention can be emotionally wrenching for the parents of a seriously ill newborn. Physicians should help parents, families, and fellow professionals understand that there is no ethical difference between withholding and withdrawing treatment, when an intervention no longer helps to achieve the goals of care or promote the quality of life.

Electronic communication can raise special concerns about privacy and confidentiality, particularly when sensitive information is being conveyed. Physicians using electronic communication hold the same ethical responsibilities to patients as they do during other clinical encounters.

Social networks, and other forms of communication online create new challenges to the patient-physician relationship. Physicians and trainees have an ethical responsibility to weigh a number of considerations when maintaining a presence online: abiding by standards of patient privacy and confidentiality, maintaining appropriate professional boundaries and recognizing that actions online and content posted may negatively affect their reputations.

Informing a patient’s family that the patient has died, is a duty that is fundamental to the patient-physician relationship; In this process, physicians should give foremost attention to the family’s emotional needs and the integrity of the patient-physician relationship.

To sustain the trust that is the foundation of the patient-physician relationship and to reassure patients that their welfare is the physician’s primary priority, physicians who participate in fundraising should: refrain from directly soliciting contributions from their own patients, Protect patient privacy and confidentiality and be sensitive to the likelihood that they may be perceived to be acting in their professional role when participating in fundraising activities.

Informed consent to medical treatment is fundamental in both ethics and law. Patients have the right to receive information and ask questions about recommended treatments so that they can make well-considered decisions about care.