David Alfandre, MD, MSPH

Health care providers should try not to make the common mistake of assuming that they have not contributed even in a small way to a conflict.

Ethics consultants begin by identifying and clarifying the conflict to ensure it is related to ethics.

Surrogate decision makers for a patient are obligated to make health care decisions based on what the patient would have wanted if it is known.

Patients trust that what they tell their doctors will remain confidential, but under certain specific circumstances, the doctors may be obligated to breach that trust.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored how easy it is for disreputable and non-authoritative sources to spread wrong and possibly dangerous medical information.

For many health care professionals, successfully managing uncertainty means recognizing that surety is complicated and illusory and knowledge is iterative and provisional rather than definitive.

Whatever strategy you employ to encourage vaccinations, it is important to be respectful and empathize with your patient’s concerns and perspectives.

Meeting public demand for an urgently needed effective medication quickly and safely during a pandemic involves difficult tradeoffs.