Jewish medical ethics and iatrogenic harm

We live in an age of advanced imaging, targeted therapies, robotic surgery, and medications that a generation ago would have seemed miraculous. About 75 percent of physicians are U.S. medical school graduates. Roughly one quarter earned their degrees abroad, with India among the largest sources of international medical graduates. Many patients now see a range of specialists.

Yet some harm today is caused not by illness, but by the care meant to treat it.

The word for this is iatrogenic — harm that results from medical care. This includes adverse drug reactions, medication interactions, surgica...