Assignment 1

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Indiana University, Bloomington *

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MISC

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Medicine

Date

Feb 20, 2024

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docx

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3

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1 Should physician disciplinary action be within the realm of public law, or should it be a private law matter between the physician and a wronged party? Defend your decision.  Public law government entities are responsible for ensuring that physicians follow established standards and ethical guidelines. Whereas private law matters are handled between the physician and the wronged party without the need for government intervention. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information ([NCBI], 2023), “medical errors are a serious public health problem and a leading cause of death in the United States”. Thus, the reason I believe physician disciplinary action should be within the realm of public law matters. Physician disciplinary action should be within the view of public law because ultimately, it pertains to the protection of public health safety and welfare. Patients trust their physician to act responsibly and sensibly; and they trust state medical boards to hold their physician accountable if they can’t maintain exceptional standards of competence. (NCBI, 2023). Ensuring patient safety is forcing states to better protect patients from doctors who are practicing medicine in an inadequate manner. Should certain types of wrongdoing be subject to public law, whereas other types are subject to private law? If so, which of the previous list of offenses would you place in each category and why? There is a thin line between what wrongdoings should be subject to public law versus private law. The only offense from the list I would consider to be subject to private law is sexual misconduct with a patient. The reason why I believe this case should be handled privately is strictly to protect patient rights as this can be touchy and controversial. However, in this specific matter physicians should still face consequences for their inappropriate practices. If the problem
2 is overlooked or not addressed, it can increase the potential for more occurrences which places more patients at risk. In all cases, the physicians are entitled to due process. What types of due process are they entitled to? Give examples of each.  When a complaint is brought to light, physicians are entitled to substantive and procedural due process. They have the right of due process as the state medical board investigates the accusation of improper conduct. Due process asserts that the physician is innocent until proven guilty. This principle applies to formal hearing and judicial procedures that the medical board conducts. “Boards must adhere to established rules and principles to ensure that a physician is not treated unfairly, arbitrarily, or unreasonably”. (Federation of State Medical Boards, 2020). However, results of a finding unprofessional conduct can include informal charges and formal charges. Formal and informal disciplinary actions can range from fines and educational courses to suspension and revocation of their licenses. Should felonies committed outside the individual’s practice of medicine be subject to state government disciplinary action in all cases? No cases? Some cases? If the latter, where do you draw the line? According to Lazarus, “criminal records are often inaccurate and/or misleading”. (2022). Being said, I believe felonies committed outside the individual’s practice of medicine should not be subject to state government disciplinary action unless it involves sexual, mental, or physical abuse.
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