Reports of the Judicial Council of the American Medical Association, December 1984

Abstract

Reprinted here are reports of opinions handed down by the American Medical Association's Judicial Council and approved by the AMA's House of Delegates in December 1984. Among the issues the Council dealt with in 1984 were a physician's contractual obligations toward patients, the importance of the patient's preferences in determining the course of treatment in terminal illness, and a physician's obligations to share new medical knowledge with colleagues. The Council also reiterated the concern it had voiced in a 1983 report about the ethical, legal, and social aspects of surrogate motherhood. Another Council report offers guidelines on conflicts between patients' interests and physicians' investments in commercial ventures such as health facilities and pharmacies. A final report outlines the ethical implications of risk-sharing arrangements between doctors and hospitals involving reimbursement based on diagnosis related groups (DRGs).