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Charter on Medical Professionalism: Putting the Charter into Practice
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IN RESPONSE:
Two comments are in order in response to the very apt observations on business practices brought forward by Dr. Haskell. First, in our development of the physician charter, we operated on the general conviction that a spare constitution of basic principles is preferable to one that is detailed and exhaustive. If the charter as an enunciation of principles were to be expanded, it would certainly include honesty, integrity, and efficiency in the business practices of physicians and medical organizations. Second, given our consistent stress on social and moral commitments and responsibilities, we would have highlighted the virtues of integrity and personal and organizational accountability as those aspects of business conduct that are most relevant to a charter of this type. We would certainly have included the examples given by Dr. Haskell—the husbanding of resources and meticulousness in record-keeping and billing—as integral to business integrity.
- Copyright ©2004 by the American College of Physicians
