Some of the most difficult medical decisions involve pediatric patients who may be unable to have a say in their own care. The AMA House of Delegates has adopted new ethical guidance for physicians to help parents and their children.

In its report presented at the 2018 AMA Interim Meeting, the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs lays out some questions for parents and physicians to consider.

Those considerations include: overall goals for care, what the child’s likely developmental course will be with and without immediate intervention, and whether interventions can reasonably be staged developmentally to allow the patient and family time to gain experience in living with a condition that is not immediately life-threatening.

My lede at AMA Wire. The whole shebang.