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PROFESSIONAL ISSUESReasons to volunteer outweigh discomfortsEthics Forum. June 6, 2005. Scenario: What can be done to get more physicians to provide charity care? Physicians often don't volunteer within America's health care "safety net" system because of real and perceived barriers. How can barriers be overcome and what are the compelling reasons for physicians to provide free medical care? Reply: Most of America's 45 million uninsured rely on the overburdened safety net of charity hospitals, community health centers and free medical clinics. The care they receive there is far better than none, but most of the thousands of doctors, medical students, nurses, and others who work within this system recognize that the best care they can provide is neither as timely nor of the same quality as the care that insured patients get. Few of those practicing within the safety net would be unhappy if the United States were to create a health care financing system that provided for all Americans and put free clinics out of business. Until that day arrives, however, physicians must act both individually and collectively to bolster safety net institutions. Specifically, more physicians must volunteer within that system to expand the scope and quantity of care for the uninsured. The medical profession has a long tradition of providing charity care. The AMA Code of Medical Ethics states that physicians have "an obligation to share in providing care to the indigent," by offering, for example, free health care in their own office settings or through volunteering their services at free clinics typically situated in poorer communities. [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2005 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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