Paul Burcher, MD, PhD

This blog discusses how OB/GYNs need not only to understand the science behind genetic screening but also to counsel patients properly about the results.

In this blog, Paul Burcher, MD, PhD, considers the professional obligations of obstetricians in a hospital setting to women who opt for a home birth.

Not enough medicine or not enough ethics? Paul Burcher, MD, PhD, shares his thoughts on finding the balance for good medical ethical decision making.

Forcing surgery on a patient is never okay. Paul Burcher, MD, PhD, discusses respecting patient choice even when the clinical outcomes may be regrettable.

Informed consent is more than just a signed consent form, says ethics blogger Paul Burcher, MD, PhD, who weighs in on a different way to think about this practice.

Respect but do not protect: How we treat colleagues affects patient care and how patients perceive us. Here are practical tips for navigating difficult professional moments.

Electronic medical records have a purpose, but they also may encourage physicians to behave unethically. More to the point: would your patient recognize her exam as described in an EMR?

Bed rest to prevent miscarriage is a historical treatment unsupported by evidence. Read why one physician believes that prescribing bed rest violates nonmaleficence.

The ethical issues between two new technologies are stark. One aims to cure disease, whereas the other threatens to alter fundamentally the parent-child relationship.

A birth plan should not be viewed as an advance directive but rather as a record of aspirations. Labor is a time of improvisation, and no one can foresee its course.

The duty to nonmaleficence suggests that it might be most ethical to deny patients when what they want presents too much risk, and too little benefit--even at the expense of respecting their autonomy.