Reporting Ethical Violations
The AMA and its Code of Medical Ethics have always maintained that physicians should practice medicine with a compassionate and respectful attitude towards patients, family members, and colleagues. If you wish to report an ethical violation regarding your experience, you must do so locally. The AMA acts as an umbrella organization that offers general guidance to the federation of state medical societies and medical specialty societies. Therefore, reports of ethical violations are more appropriately and more efficiently handled at a local level.
To report an ethical violation there are a number of options that can be considered. First, you may want to approach your physician and explain your concerns, perhaps bringing to his or her attention the relevant ethics opinions from the Code of Medical Ethics. Second, you may choose to report the behavior to an another physician or group of physicians who work with your physician. Depending on the nature of the concern, reporting to a health organization or health insurance plan is also an option. A number of these groups have grievance mechanisms in place for patients to lodge complaints. Third, you may register a complaint against your physician through the state medical society or state licensing board. These organizations have appropriate bodies to initiate physician reviews at the local level. If appropriate, the licensing board can take legal action regarding the physician's license to practice medicine.
Contact information for the state medical societies and licensing boards is listed below.
Select a state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Complete state information
Contact information is provided on how to report an ethical violation to the appropriate medical society and state.
