AMA issues quarantine and isolation guidelines: to help physicians balance patients' rights with public health needs.

The American Medical Association (AMA) today issued new ethical guidelines to help physicians adequately balance public health goals with the interests of individual patients during epidemics.

"The practices of quarantine and isolation have long been used to curb the spread of disease, as well as ensure that ill patients receive the critical care they need," said AMA Trustee Rebecca Patchin, MD. "In these situations, physicians must do everything they can to protect the rights and privacy of patients without compromising the health of the public."

The guidelines stress that physicians should protect patient autonomy and privacy as much as possible during quarantine or isolation. The guidelines state that physicians should collaborate with public health authorities to:

* Use valid scientific methods to assess public health risks;

* Avoid arbitrary application of quarantine and isolation to particular socioeconomic, racial or ethnic groups;

* Advocate for access to public health services for timely detection of risks and implementation of quarantine and isolation;

* Educate patients about the importance of their compliance with public health measures;

* Support mandatory quarantine and isolation for patients who fail to comply with such measures.

The guidelines were passed today during the AMA's policy-making meeting in Dallas, and are based on an in-depth analysis by the AMA's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs on the use of quarantine and isolation as public health interventions.

Information for this article was provided by the American Medical Association.