AMA: Reporting Ethical Violations

From: Helen Dynda (olddad66@runestone.net)
Mon Apr 2 21:57:02 2001


American Medical Association: Reporting Ethical Violations

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2509.html

The AMA and its Code of Medical Ethics have always maintained that physicians should practice medicine with a compassionate and respectful attitude towards patients, family members and colleagues. If you wish to report an ethical violation regarding your experience you must do so locally. The AMA acts as an umbrella organization that offers general guidance to the federation of state medical societies and medical specialty societies. Therefore, reports of ethical violations are more appropriately and more efficiently handled at a local level.

To report an ethical violation there are a number of options that can be considered.

First, you may want to approach your physician and explain your concerns, perhaps bringing to his or her attention the relevant ethics opinions. AMA ethics policy can be accessed through the Code of Medical Ethics link in the left navigation bar on this page.

Second, you may choose to report the behavior to a senior physician or group of physicians who work with your physician. Depending on the nature of the concern, reporting to a health organization or health insurance plan is also an option. A number of these groups have grievance mechanisms in place for patients to lodge complaints.

Third, you may register a complaint against your physician through the state medical society or county grievance board. These organizations have appropriate bodies to initiate physician reviews at the local level.

Finally, you may wish to register a complaint with the state licensing board. This body can take legal action regarding the physician's license to practice medicine. Contact information for the state medical societies and licensing boards are listed below.

Select a state and click the GO! button: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Complete State Information

Last updated: Mar 08, 2001

Content provided by: Ethics Standards

© Copyright 1995-2001 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.


Enter keywords:
Returns per screen: Require all keywords: