From: olivercranglejr@gmail.com   
      
   Most Doctors Do Not Report Incompetent Colleagues, Survey   
      
   Tue 4 Dec 2007 - 1pm PST   
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   A new survey of doctors in the United States revealed that while the   
   overwhelming majority think incompetent colleagues should be reported, less   
   than half actually do so.   
      
   The study is the work of Dr David Blumenthal from the Massachusetts General   
   Hospital, Institute for Health Policy, in Boston Massachusetts, and   
   colleagues, and is published in the 4th December online issue of the Annals of   
   Internal Medicine.   
      
   The researchers carried out the study because while the idea of improving   
   standards of care through increasing professionalism among doctors has been   
   gaining ground in medical organizations, the view of practising doctors and   
   the extent to which they    
   conformed with standards was unknown.   
      
   Blumenthal and colleagues invited responses from 3,504 doctors practising in   
   family practices, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, anesthesiology, and   
   cardiology, and received responses from 1,662 of them (58 per cent). The study   
   was carried out    
   between November 2003 and June 2004.   
      
   The questions covered various standards of medical professionalism such as   
   those developed by the American College of Physicians and the American Board   
   of Internal Medicine.   
      
   The results showed that:   
   Over 90 per cent of respondents agreed with statements about principles   
   proposed by professional bodies in 2002 regarding such things as the fair   
   distribution of finite resources, improving access to healthcare and quality   
   of care, managing conflicts of    
   interest, and self-regulation among professionals.   
   24 per cent of respondents disagreed with the idea that doctors should undergo   
   periodic recertification.   
   A common theme found in the responses was that physicians did not always   
   follow the standards they supported.   
   For example, although 96 per cent agreed that doctors should report   
   incompetent colleagues to the authorities, only 45 per cent of them had   
   actually done so.   
   Another example was that about one third of respondents said they would order   
   unneeded MRI for back pain if a patient asked for it.   
   The authors accepted that the results might not be typical of all doctors, and   
   especially of specialisms not covered.   
      
   They concluded however, that while doctors may generally agree with norms of   
   behaviour set by the various professional bodies, they did not necessarily   
   comply with them.   
      
   Commenting on their findings, Blumenthal said that:   
      
   ""I think human beings always fall short of their aspirations."   
      
   However, he said he was encouraged that nearly all the respondents supported   
   professional standards. At least "you don't have to convince them about what   
   they ought to be doing," he said.   
      
   Some experts have suggested that doctors are scared of being sued if they   
   report incompetent colleagues, and that what the profession needs is a whistle   
   blowing system.   
      
   "Professionalism in Medicine: Results of a National Survey of Physicians."   
   E. G. Campbell, S. Regan, R. L. Gruen, T. G. Ferris, S. R. Rao, P. D. Cleary   
   and D. Blumenthal.   
   Ann Intern Med 2007; 795-802.    
   4 December 2007, Volume 147 Issue 11, Pages 795-802.   
      
   Click here for Abstract.   
      
   Written by: Catharine Paddock   
   Copyright: Medical News Today   
      
      
      
      
   http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/90676.php   
      
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