RESOURCES for Ethical, Legal, & Risk Management Issues:
[click for GUIDANCE RE: SPECIFIC ETHICAL ISSUES]
Update:
Renewing Your Texas Medical License:
WATCH OUT for you Texas Medical Board (TMB) license renewal postcard!!!
No more filling out paper work to renew your medical license with the TMB. For more information.....
For the Health Care Liability Report and Report Forms, see Chapter 176 of the TMB Rules.
To complete your TMB License Renewal Online, see TMB Online Registration.
Texas Medical Practice Act: Texas Statutes Occupations Code; Title 3 Health Professions; Chapter 151-165
Texas Medical Board Rules: The Texas Medical Board is an agency of the executive branch of state government statutorily empowered to regulate the practice of medicine in Texas. The purpose of the board is to protect the public's safety and welfare. The board fulfills its purpose primarily through the licensure and discipline of physicians and other allied health care providers as mandated by law.
**TMB: HCMS ADVOCACY:** Complaint Process Information; Educational Resources; Board Action Statistics
TEXAS REGISTRY: A weekly publication that serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.
AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) - Current Opinions: The American Medical Association Council on Ethical & Judicial Affairs addresses ethical issues and other healthcare policies. Search from topics in health and ethics, governance, and directives from the AMA House of Delegates.
You may browse HCMS Practice Management and TMA Practice Management for issues related to the operations of your medical office. You may address specific issues to the TMA Knowledge Center.
TMA Board of Councilor - Current Opinions: The Board of Councilors is the ethical policy making body of the TMA that gives opinions in response to various inquiries regarding ethical issues and current events affecting the practice of medicine that supplement the current opinions of the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs.
Legal Information & TMA Articles and Papers on Legal Issues : The Office of the General Counsel provides legal representation for TMA in its activities and assists county medical societies’ physicians and their attorneys and the public with questions regarding medical law. You should not rely on this information when dealing with personal legal matters; rather legal advice from retained legal counsel should be sought.
Principals of Medical Ethics with annotations applicable to psychiatry: further annotations to the basic principles are offered by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). While psychiatrists have the same goals as all physicians, there are special ethical problems in psychiatric practice that differ in coloring and degree from ethical problems in other branches of medical practice, even though the basic principles are the same.
If you have a complaint… Physicians that may have concerns regarding another physician can address their concerns with the HCMS Board of Ethics. MEMBERS ONLY
SPECIFIC ISSUES:
MEDICAL TOURISM - AMA GUIDELINES
A set of nine principles to ensure the safety of patients seeking medical care outside the U.S. has been approved by the American Medical Association House of Delegates during its annual meeting in Chicago June 2008. The principles include calls for such care to be voluntary and not mandated by an insurance company or employer; that patients should be referred only to institutions that have been accredited by recognized international accrediting bodies; that follow-up care coordination be arranged in advance; and that patients be advised about the potential risks of combining surgery with long flights and vacation activities.
MEDICAL RECORDS
Texas Medical Board Rules Chapter 165
Definition of an adequate Medical Record
Patient’s History is Inconsistent with Previous Medical Records
General Retention Requirements
Methods of Storage
Recommended Method of Records Destruction
List of Record Management Companies
Transferring Records or Requests for Records
Processing time for Requests
Charges for Records
Can a physician withhold a medical record because of a past due account?
Access to Medical Records of Deceased Patient
Retiring/Closing Practice
Treatment of self, family and friends
OPENING OR CLOSING A PRACTICE
Opening a NEW practice?
Retiring or Closing Your Medical Practice?
Physicians Departing a Group Practice
Notifying Patients when Leaving a Practice
PHYSICIAN-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP
Creating the Physician-Patient Relationship
Do appointments Establish a Physician-Patient Relationship?
Elements of the Relationship
Legal Duty
Ethical Responsibility
Limited Physician-Patient Relationship
Ending the Physician-Patient Relationship
How to Properly Terminate the Physician-Patient Relationship
SAMPLE Termination Letter
Role of Apology in Physician-Patient Relationships (PDF)
CONSENTS:
For Treatment of Minors
COMMUNICATING WITH PATIENTS:
Electronic Communications with Patients
Interpreters & Translators
Missed Appointments
AMA :"Principles for Strethening the Physician-Hospital Relationship"
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Physician-Owned Facilities
Stark Laws & Physician Ownership
LEGAL ISSUES
Healing Art Identification Act
Texas Medical Practice Act
Texas Medical Board Rules
Texas Medical Association: (TMA) Articles and Papers on Legal Issues
EMTALA FAQ's & Resources