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Physicians' practice profiles and the patient's right to know.
1Department of Philosophy, University of Victoria, BC, Canada.
Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice
|November 18, 2000
Summary
Physician practice profiles are now public in many US states due to recent legislation. This ethical analysis supports making this information widely available to the public.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Public Health Policy
- Healthcare Transparency
Background:
- Recent legislation mandates public access to physician practice profiles across numerous US states.
- The availability of this data raises ethical considerations regarding transparency and accountability in healthcare.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the ethical underpinnings of making physician practice profiles publicly accessible.
- To evaluate the ethical appropriateness of this healthcare transparency initiative.
Main Methods:
- Ethical analysis of legislative actions concerning physician practice profiles.
- Review of ethical principles related to public disclosure of professional performance data.
Main Results:
- The study finds that the public availability of physician practice profiles is ethically justifiable.
- Balancing patient rights and professional obligations supports this initiative.
Conclusions:
- Making physician practice profiles public is ethically sound and beneficial for informed healthcare decisions.
- This practice should be adopted by additional jurisdictions to enhance healthcare transparency.
Keywords:
Professional Patient Relationship