In the healthcare system, a physician plays a crucial role in controlling
medical and health needs. They work efficiently in the healthcare
system to do medication management and diagnose patients. Also,
they provide guidance to their patients about treatment planning.
The work role of a physician is considered to be a responsible job in
the ambulatory or hospital setting. In general, the duties and
responsibilities of the physician include maintaining a good medical
practice, display of registration numbers, maintenance of medical
records, use of generic names of drugs, exposure of unethical
conduct, highest quality assurance in patient care, evasion of legal
restrictions, payment of professional services, and others (National
Medical Commission. NMC., 2002). These physicians are highly paid
among all the professions across the world. The 2018 research study
shows that an average of $218,713 is earned by a general physician
in the United States as compared to an average of $133,723 across
the nations of OECD. For specialists, the disparity was even wider as
an average of $316,000 had been earned in the U.S, and an average
of $182,657 has been earned across the nation of OECD. This is
resulting in high physician costs for the citizens of America.
Code of ethics and Motto in healthcare settings
According to World Health Organization (WHO), a physician and
other health care staff need to follow some codes of ethics in the
hospital or health care settings, which includes integrity,
independence and impartiality, accountability, professional
commitment, and respect for dignity, equality, worth, privacy, and
diversity for all individuals (Code of ethics and professional conduct,
2021). The physician profession has the Motto to not harm anyone
and always help others.
If looking into the codes of ethics and Motto for the physicians, they
should serve the patients equally that they are worth it, and they
should always be available for them without any partiality. As it can
be seen that they have already high paid salaries, they should not
command such large paychecks. This is because it is going against the
code of ethics and Motto that has been set for all physicians. The
code of ethics says that all physicians should be dedicated to serving
the patients without harming anyone. They should maintain a good
relationship with the patients, and they should understand the basic
health needs of the patients. The high physician costs are stopping
many patients from accessing the health care services at their
affordable cost. It is creating a gap between the patients and the
physicians as well as healthcare access.
References
Code of ethics and professional conduct. (2021). Retrieved March
10, 2022, from
https://www.who.int/about/ethics/code_of_ethics_full_version.pdf
National Medical Commission. NMC. (2002). Retrieved March 10,
2022, from https://www.nmc.org.in/rules-regulations/code-of-
medical-ethics-regulations-2002/
