Medical-legal issues in radiology: prevention and control

Concerns about legal implications affect many decisions of the average radiologist, and physicians do not always appreciate the validity of these concerns. However, such concerns often influence radiologists' decisions more than is warranted. An improved understanding of the law and its ramifications may serve to prevent adverse legal effects found in the everyday practice of radiology. Legal issues influence radiology in many ways. Two important ways the law affects the practice of radiology relate to the business affairs of radiologists and to the radiologist's duty to perform to a standard of care. Legal issues relate to the business aspects of radiology through radiologists' relationship to their group practice and the radiology group's relation to the outside world. Radiology groups use legal services for issues such as employment contracts, hospital privileges, group relations, and bylaws. They make decisions with major legal implications when they establish their standard business practices. These decisions range from business procedures that ensure a timely delivery of service to the choice and implementation of quality assurance systems to how to ensure that patients are informed of the results of a radiologic examination. Legal matters affect many business decisions radiology groups make. Antitrust law is concerned about issues such as cost sharing, price sharing, mergers, acquisitions, and practice patterns. Laws limit the right to practice radiology. Billing practices, conflicts of interest, self-referral, right to refuse care, employment practices--all have substantial legal implications. These issues are a concern of every practicing radiologist. Changes in our health care system may cause new legal obligations. An appreciation of the relationship radiologists must have with payors and patients is increasingly important in preventing medical-legal problems. These additional duties and responsibilities occur when many physicians and the public at large seem to feel they are already overburdened with legal duties and responsibilities. A lack of familiarity with the legitimate relationship of the law to everyday life may greatly affect radiologists' job satisfaction. Many acts physicians perform in the practice of radiology have legal implications not often recognized by the practicing radiologist. This monograph seeks to enhance radiologists' understanding of some common and important legal issues related to their practice of medicine. We hope that this monograph will help radiologists appreciate the legal implications of their behavior. The opinions expressed in this monograph are those of the authors and should not be inferred to represent the official views of any government agency.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)