Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Ethics and Professionalism
Lecture:Ethical and legal standards
Slide content:Unprofessional Conduct Investigators gather information Board determines whether unprofessional conduct has occurred Board imposes sanctions Fines Mandatory medical education Mandatory medical treatment Suspension or revocation of license 9
Slide notes:When a state medical board receives information suggesting that a physician has violated professional standards, it initiates an investigation. If sufficient evidence is found in the investigation, the board holds a hearing or some other procedure to determine whether a violation has occurred. This process must be conducted in a way that is fair and that protects the basic rights of the physician. If a violation is found to have occurred, the board can impose a penalty. In a professional setting, a penalty is usually called a sanction . Although a sanction is a punishment in a practical sense, its not intended to punish the individual physician. Rather, the purpose of a sanction is to protect the public from substandard medical practices. The sanction might be a monetary fine. If the physicians violation involved substandard skills, the board may order him or her to seek additional medical education. If the violation involved a medical condition, such as drug addiction, the board might order the physician to submit to medical treatment. For serious violations, the board might also suspend or revoke the physicians medical license. Setting professional standards through medical practice laws is one example of how ethics, professionalism, and law interact. The next two slides discuss another way in which these concepts interact: malpractice liability. 9