Upon receipt of an ethics complaint from the Board Secretary, the Chairperson of the Grievance Committee shall review the complaint. Any evidence and documentation attached will be considered only to the extent necessary to determine whether a complaint will be referred for hearing. The Chairperson may assign one or more members of the Grievance Committee to review the complaint and to make any necessary evaluation. The member(s) may, if necessary, gather additional information on the matters complained of from the complainant if additional information is necessary to determine whether a complaint will be referred for hearing. The complaint shall be provided to the assigned members by the Board Secretary upon instruction from the Chairperson. (Amended 11/15) The reviewer(s), if appointed, shall complete the assignment promptly and prepare a report and recommendation for the Grievance Committee. After reviewing the report, the Chairperson shall schedule a meeting of the Grievance Committee and may instruct the Secretary to provide members of the Grievance Committee with copies of the case file including the reviewer’s report, if any. At the option of the Board, such file may be sent to the Grievance Committee members prior to the meeting or may be distributed at the meeting. (Amended 4/94) In reviewing an ethics complaint, the Grievance Committee shall consider the following: NOTE: If deemed appropriate by the Chairperson, a member of the Grievance Committee may be assigned to contact the complainant and to provide procedural assistance to amend the complaint or resubmit a new complaint in proper form and with proper content. The Grievance Committee member providing such assistance shall ensure that only procedural assistance is provided to the complainant, and that the complainant understands that the member is not representing the complainant or advocating on behalf of the complainant. (Revised 11/15) If all relevant questions have been answered to the satisfaction of the Grievance Committee, and the allegations, if taken as true, could constitute a violation of the Code of Ethics, the Grievance Committee shall refer the complaint to the Professional Standards Committee for a hearing by an ethics Hearing Panel. (Revised 11/15) If the Grievance Committee dismisses the complaint, the notice of dismissal shall specify the reasons for dismissing and the complainant may appeal the dismissal to the Board of Directors within twenty (20) days from transmittal of the dismissal notice using Form #E-22, Appeal of Grievance Committee (or Hearing Panel) Dismissal of Ethics Complaint. The complaint and any attachments to the complaint cannot be revised, modified, or supplemented. The complainant may, however, explain in writing why the complainant disagrees with the Grievance Committee’s conclusion that the complaint should be dismissed. If the Grievance Committee deletes an Article or Articles from an ethics complaint, the complainant may also appeal to the Board of Directors using Form #E-22, Appeal of Grievance Committee (or Hearing Panel) Dismissal of Ethics Complaint. The Directors (or a panel of Directors or the Executive Committee) shall consider only the information and documents considered by the Grievance Committee, together with the complainant’s rationale for challenging the dismissal and render its decision, which shall be final. The parties are not present at the meeting at which the appeal is considered. Appeals of dismissals shall be heard at the Directors' next regularly scheduled meeting or a special meeting designated for that purpose, but no later than ten (10) days after the date of receipt of the appeal. The Directors' decision shall be transmitted to the parties within five (5) days from the date of the decision. (Revised 11/15) If after review of an ethics complaint by the Grievance Committee and referral of the complaint for hearing, it is subsequently discovered that criminal or civil litigation or regulatory or administrative proceedings related to the same transaction or event are pending, the Hearing Panel Chair, in consultation with association legal counsel, will determine whether the hearing will proceed or, alternatively, whether the complaint will be held in abeyance pending resolution of the litigation or regulatory or administrative proceedings. (Revised 11/18)
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The AMA's Code of Medical Ethics offers ethical guidance for the medical profession and centers on the physician-patient relationship. It sets ethical guidance to how physicians should interact with patients. The AMA believes all physicians should uphold the ethical standards set forth in the Code. First developed in 1847, the Code is regularly updated through reports and opinions of the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA). CEJA’s role is to analyze and address timely issues confronting physicians and the medical profession. The AMA is bound by due process in all matters related to complaints and generally does not have the legal authority or possesses the proper resources to investigate individual cases. Grievances against a medical professional who you believe is acting unethically or not providing a certain standard of care should be directed to your state medical licensing board. Legal standards of professional conduct are set by individual state medical licensing boards and may vary from state to state. While there is no single definition of unprofessional conduct, the Federation of State Medical Board defines such conduct as:
Billing disputes and poor customer service are generally not viewed as unprofessional conduct. Contact your state medical licensing board to find out what the standards are in your state. AMA policy can be found in several ways: The Code states that physicians should make medical records available as requested by the patient and that a reasonable fee may be charged for transferring medical records (see Opinion 3.3.1 "Management of Medical Records"). Individual states may have regulations defining reasonable fee, contact your state medical licensing board to find out what the regulations are in your state. The Code states that, in general, physicians are free to choose whom to serve (see Principle VI, Principles of Medical Ethics), but physicians have an obligation to support continuity of care for their patients (see Opinion 1.1.5 "Terminating a Patient-Physician Relationship"). Physicians and patients wanting to know more about the appropriate mechanism for terminating a patient-physician relationship should contact their state medical licensing board to find out what the regulations are in their state. Opinion 1.1.2 “Prospective Patients” defines circumstances in which a physician may ethically decline to accept specific patients before a patient-physician relationship has been established. AMA Ethics Group Tom Wagner Telephone: (312) 464-4823 Email: [email protected] AMA Journal of Ethics® inquiries or assistanceVisit the Journal of Ethics contact page. |