Professionalism Means Patients Come First
As physicians, we enjoy a privileged position, but with that privilege comes an obligation to our profession, the public and the patients we serve. A profession may be defined in many ways but there are some common principles among these definitions: (1) there is a body of knowledge to be acquired; (2) there are formal requirements for admission; (3) the relationships with the patients being served are confidential; (4) the members of the profession engage in self-regulation; and (5) the members are guided by principles higher than financial remuneration.
 N. Reed Dunnick, M.D. |
These principles are inherent to our specialty of radiology. In order to practice radiology, there is an enormous body of knowledge that must be acquired. That huge information base continues to expand with the new technologies being developed and knowledge being generated every year. This drives us toward subspecialization.
Although the U.S. healthcare system is expensive, quality measures do not place us at the top of developed countries. Third-party payers are trying to both reduce costs and improve these quality measures. Board certification has become a surrogate for quality and has become a requirement for reimbursement by some payers. Board certification and maintenance of certification may become practical requirements for admission to our field.
While physicians consider their interactions with patients to be confidential, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has coded this into law.
The most challenging of these principles may be avoiding self-interest in our decisions and actions. Sending patients to an imaging center in which the referring physician holds an equity position (self-referral) is more common among non-radiologists. However, radiologists must be aware of our own conflicts of interest as we interact with our referring physicians, vendors and hospital administrators. We must remember, as members of the profession of medicine, that we must always put the interests of our patients first.
