opinion
When liability rests on guidelines, care is needed in defining terms
LETTER — Posted May 13, 2013
Regarding “Doctors win first safe harbor against ACA use in liability suits” (Article, April 15): This is a wonderful victory for the profession, the American Medical Association and Georgia. My concern is that this law makes the obverse argument more difficult.
I believe there should be a safe harbor if a doctor demonstrates that she has followed nationally accepted guidelines. Can we still ask for that safe harbor if we don’t allow suits for not following these guidelines?
I think we will have to discriminate between administrative and clinical guidelines, a difficult comparison for the public and the legal profession.
— Joe Heyman, MD, Amesbury, Mass.
Copyright © 2013 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
