Ethical Issues in Physician Billing Under Fee-For-Service Plans. 2020

Joseph Heath
University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Medical ethics has become an important and recognized component of physician training. There is one area, however, in which medical students receive little guidance. There is practically no discussion of the financial aspects of medical practice. My objective in this paper is to initiate a discussion about the moral dimension of physician billing practices. I argue that physicians should expand their conception of professional responsibility in order to recognize that their moral obligations toward patients include a commitment to honest and forthright billing practices. I argue that physicians should aspire to a standard of clinical accuracy-not legal adequacy-in describing their activities. More generally, physicians should strive to promote an integrity-based professional culture, first and foremost by stigmatizing rather than celebrating creative billing practices, as well as condemning the misguided sense of solidarity that currently makes it taboo for physicians to criticize each other on this score.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007349 Insurance, Health, Reimbursement Payment by a third-party payer in a sum equal to the amount expended by a health care provider or facility for health services rendered to an insured or program beneficiary. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988) Health Insurance Reimbursement,Reimbursement, Health Insurance,Third-Party Payments,Third-Party Payers,Health Insurance Reimbursements,Insurance Reimbursement, Health,Insurance Reimbursements, Health,Payer, Third-Party,Payers, Third-Party,Payment, Third-Party,Payments, Third-Party,Reimbursements, Health Insurance,Third Party Payers,Third Party Payments,Third-Party Payer,Third-Party Payment
D010818 Practice Patterns, Physicians' Patterns of practice related to diagnosis and treatment as especially influenced by cost of the service requested and provided. Clinical Practice Patterns,Physician's Practice Patterns,Clinical Practice Pattern,Pattern, Clinical Practice,Patterns, Clinical Practice,Practice Pattern, Clinical,Practice Patterns, Clinical,Practice Patterns, Physician's,Prescribing Patterns, Physician,Physician Practice Patterns,Physician Prescribing Pattern,Physician Prescribing Patterns,Physician's Practice Pattern,Physicians' Practice Pattern,Physicians' Practice Patterns,Practice Pattern, Physician's,Practice Pattern, Physicians',Practice Patterns, Physician,Prescribing Pattern, Physician
D004992 Ethics, Medical The principles of professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the physician, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the physician in patient care and interpersonal relations with patient families. Medical Ethics
D005249 Fees and Charges Amounts charged to the patient as payer for health care services. Charges,Charges and Fees,Fees,Charge,Fee
D005607 Fraud Exploitation through misrepresentation of the facts or concealment of the purposes of the exploiter. Fraud, Health Care,Health Care Fraud,Kickbacks,Drug Counterfeiting,Healthcare Fraud,Counterfeiting, Drug,Fraud, Healthcare,Health Care Frauds,Kickback
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D015279 Organizational Culture Beliefs and values shared by all members of the organization. These shared values, which are subject to change, are reflected in the day to day management of the organization. Corporate Culture,Corporate Cultures,Culture, Corporate,Culture, Organizational,Cultures, Corporate,Cultures, Organizational,Organizational Cultures
D018588 Fee-for-Service Plans Method of charging whereby a physician or other practitioner bills for each encounter or service rendered. In addition to physicians, other health care professionals are reimbursed via this mechanism. Fee-for-service plans contrast with salary, per capita, and prepayment systems, where the payment does not change with the number of services actually used or if none are used. (From Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, 1976) Fee-for-Service, Medical,Reimbursement, Fee-for-Service,Fee for Service,Fees for Service,Fee for Service Plans,Fee for Service, Medical,Fee for Services,Fee-for-Service Plan,Fee-for-Service Reimbursement,Fee-for-Service Reimbursements,Fee-for-Services, Medical,Fees for Services,Medical Fee-for-Service,Medical Fee-for-Services,Plan, Fee-for-Service,Plans, Fee-for-Service,Reimbursement, Fee for Service,Reimbursements, Fee-for-Service,Service, Fee for,Service, Fees for,Services, Fee for,Services, Fees for
D028681 Moral Obligations Duties that are based in ETHICS, rather than in law. Moral Duties,Duties, Moral,Duty, Moral,Moral Duty,Moral Obligation,Obligation, Moral,Obligations, Moral

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