AMA aims to boost medical staff autonomy

At a time of growing animosity between staffs and hospitals, the Association calls for laws to guarantee physician independence.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. July 12, 2004.

Chicago -- Legislation is needed to bolster the ability of hospital medical staffs to govern themselves, according to policy adopted at the American Medical Association's Annual Meeting in June.

"We strongly support physician autonomy and self-governance because it has implications for patient advocacy and quality practice," said LaMar McGinnis, MD, from the American College of Surgeons. "It's very important for us to be on guard and take measures to preserve this very important aspect of physician function within the hospital."

The relationship between hospitals and physicians has a long tradition of uneasiness and tension. The growing acrimony, in part driven by financial pressures on both parties and involving the courts more and more, led the AMA to adopt several new polices.

"It's exciting and sort of sad to see such a string of resolutions related to self-governance," said Joseph L. Murphy, MD, an Organized Medical Staff Section delegate. "I sure hope this works for all of our doctors who are having problems all over this country."

To that end, the AMA also wants to work with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations to lengthen the appointments of medical staff from every two years to every four years. Physicians complained that the process was too time-consuming to happen so frequently.

The Association also plans to develop a third edition of the Physician's Guide to Medical Staff Organization Bylaws. The second edition was published in September 2002, and members felt an update was necessary to help staff working at hospitals better navigate the rules that govern them.