Virtual Mentor. January 2009, Volume 11, Number 1: 1-98. Full Issue PDF

January 2009 Contents

Medical Care for Homeless Individuals

Ethics Poll

According to the 2007 Annual Report of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, military veterans make up what percentage of the homeless population?
Less than 5 percent.
11 percent.
25 percent.
More than 40 percent.

For correct answer, see "The Army of Lost Souls."

People who live on the streets and in shelters have a high percentage of unmanaged chronic disease, infectious diseases including TB and HIV, and mental illness. How should medicine and society address health care for homeless people?
Society bears some responsibility for the poverty and homelessness of its members. As a nation, we should ensure that physicians are paid to treat homeless people in streets, shelters, and wherever else they may be.
Medical care for the homeless should be funded by charitable organizations with medical services donated by physicians and others.
With the exception of U.S. military veterans, I don’t see why homeless people deserve free medical care more than the rest of us do.

Some homeless people earn money by volunteering to be participants in clinical research. Which of the following statements best describes what you think about this practice?
Homeless people are vulnerable; an offer of money in return for exposing themselves to the risk of a clinical trial [even minimal risk] is coercive.
If the proposed clinical research meets the standards for scientific soundness and ethical acceptability, homeless people should be allowed to apply to participate just like anyone else.

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From the Editor

Healing in an Age of Homelessness
Kathleen M. Patchan
Full Text | PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:3-5.

Educating for Professionalism

Clinical Cases

Outpatient Commitment: A Treatment Tool for the Mentally Ill?
Commentary by Scott C. Fears and Ann Hackman
Full Text | PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:6-12.

A Mother and Infant with No Home
Commentary by Curren Warf
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:13-18.

Hospital Resources: A Practical Treatment Plan for Homeless Patients
Commentary by James Dunford, David Buchanan, and Sharad Jain
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:19-25.

On Call

Resources and Responsibility
Jake Richards
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:26-31.

Medical Education

Medical Student Self-Efficacy and Attitudes toward Homeless Patients
David S. Buck and Benjamin T. King
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:32-37.

Journal Discussion

Preferences for End-of-Life Care: A Physician and Homeless Patient Comparison
Carolyn Bramante and John Song
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:38-42.

Clinical Pearl

Diagnosing and Treating Schizophrenia
Patrick Aquino
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:43-48.

Law, Policy, and Society

Health Law

Refusal of Emergency Care and Patient Dumping
Jeffrey Kahntroff and Rochelle Watson
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:49-53.

Policy Forum

Enrollment of Economically Disadvantaged Participants in Clinical Research
Neal Dickert
Full Text | PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:54-60.

Medicine and Society

The “Army of Lost Souls”
David A. Iverson, Marilyn Cornell, and Paul Smits
Full Text | PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:61-71.

History, Art, and Narrative

Medical Narratives

When Half a City’s Residents May Be Homeless: New Orleans After Katrina
Benjamin Springgate
Full Text | PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:72-77.

Boston HealthCare for the Homeless Program: A Success Story
James O’Connell
Full Text | PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:78-82.

Resources

Suggested Readings and Resources
PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:83-95.

About the Contributors
Full Text | PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:96-98.