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From: jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: The subject appears to be ME. (legalities)
Message-ID: <602@hadron.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Nov-86 22:51:26 EST
Article-I.D.: hadron.602
Posted: Wed Nov  5 22:51:26 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 7-Nov-86 08:44:14 EST
References: <525@aecom.UUCP> <2150@mtuxo.UUCP>
Reply-To: jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao)
Distribution: na
Organization: Hadron, Inc., Fairfax, VA
Lines: 41
Summary: How should "standard practice" be defined?

In article <2150@mtuxo.UUCP> wjc@mtuxo.UUCP (w.cambre) writes:
>Secondly the AMA is too tightly coupled with the legal system.  When a doctor
>goes on trial for malpractice, her guilt is determined not by what is right
>and what is wrong, but rather by what is 'standard practice'.  And the
>AMA's guidelines are often what is considered standard practice.  So if
>you don't follow the guidelines, you are more apt to be sued and to lose,
>right or wrong.

Interesting point.  Whether or not the AMA is in bed with the lawyers
(and, for the most part, I rather think not), the fact is that the
law (as I was taught it) does have a doctrine of negligence, which
measures liability by whether a person meets his responsibilities
according to a certain standard of care, and whether there was any
injury as a result.  This came first, before the AMA.  Now, who's
to judge the standard of care?  Shall we hold a vote on the net?
Certainly not -- or if so, we should only give a vote to people who
are active medical practitioners.  All right, in the USA, what's the
biggest single organisation of practitioners?  The AMA?  And, if we
don't have the people in practice deciding what's "right" and "wrong",
how  d o  we decide it?

I think, though, that part of the problem is in that last sentence.
One does not automatically get sued every time one strays from the
thin high wire.  Or should not.  For most conditions, there is more
than one accepted method of treatment.  But people with the attitude
that the doctor can take a look at you and know just what the problem
is and what to do, end up suing the doctor when their unrealistic
expectations are not fulfilled.  Granted that there are some doctors
out there who wholy need and deserve it, the rate of lawsuits has
been getting quite out of hand.  So much so, that many times when a
health practitioner would very much like to do something to help a
person -- even something as simple as making aspirin or acetaminophen
available to a person requesting it -- the possibility of a lawsuit
makes it difficult or impossible.  (*sigh*  Midnight passed while I
wasn't looking, and I'm rambling.  The point is that doctors et al
are mostly in it to help.  The sentiment that a lockstep attitude
is required to prevent lawsuits does not help.)
-- 

	Joe Yao		hadron!jsdy@seismo.{CSS.GOV,ARPA,UUCP}
			jsdy@hadron.COM (not yet domainised)