Government
Deviation from guidelines should not be criminalized, AMA says
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 11, 2005
Physicians and other health care professionals should not face criminal charges for making medical decisions or taking actions that are not in line with care guidelines, according to a Board of Trustees report approved at the American Medical Association Annual Meeting in June.
This action came because several states passed laws during last year's flu vaccine shortage making it illegal to immunize people not on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended list. The shortage later became a surplus, but physicians in some areas could not use the vaccine they had, due to the laws.
"Government guidelines often lead to inefficient results when they are solely in response to variable, short-term circumstances," said AMA Trustee Cyril M. Hetsko, MD.
The Association will seek legislation to prevent these kind of laws from getting on the books again.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/07/11/gvbf0711.htm.
