The public impact of academic and print media portrayals of TMS: shining a spotlight on discrepancies in the literature.

BACKGROUND: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an FDA approved treatment for major depression, migraine, obsessive compulsive disorder, and smoking addiction. TMS has gained popular media support, but media coverage and commercial reporting of TMS services may be contributing to the landscape of ethical issues. METHODS: We explore the differences between the academic and print media literature portrayals of TMS to evaluate their ethical impact for the public. We performed a comprehensive literature review using PubMed and NexisUni databases to evaluate the literature available on TMS from 2014 to 2019. Our sample consisted of 1632 academic articles and 468 print media articles for a total of 2100 articles. We then coded each article for seven specific top-level codes: (1) type of source, (2) year of publication, (3) purpose of TMS application, (4) age of subjects, (5) population, (6) overall tone, and (7) specification of TMS parameters. We also made some additional notes of the TMS parameters where specified and the breakdown of mental health applications. RESULTS: Our results indicated several discrepancies between the academic and the print media reporting about TMS technology, particularly with regards to tone and specificity. Namely, the academic sample was largely neutral and specific about the parameters under which TMS was being applied, while the print media sample was heavily optimistic and presented the application of TMS with far less specificity. There was some convergence between the two samples, such as the focus of both on therapy as the predominant TMS application. CONCLUSIONS: We call upon the academic community to increase scrutiny of TMS services in order to ensure that people's knowledge of health technologies is not unduly influenced by sensational claims and a general lack of adequate information.

AMA Code of Medical Ethics' Opinions Related to Organizational Influence in Health Care.

In recent decades, organized health care has displaced some traditional solo-practitioner physician roles. As larger organizations become more influential in the health care sector, American Medical Association (AMA) positions on professionalism and organizational development, as outlined in the Code of Medical Ethics, can help physicians navigate organizations' influence on practice.

AMA Policies and Code of Medical Ethics Opinions Related to Human Genome Editing.

Recent research using gene editing technologies has made such tools more accessible and easier to use, fueling the promise of their therapeutic capacity. However, development of gene editing tools reminds professionals and the public that these technologies' potential use extends beyond treating somatic disease to germline editing, with consequences yet unknown. This article canvasses AMA Code of Medical Ethics' opinions and policies relevant to gene editing.