C****ultural Competence November 8, 2007
Increased cultural competence of health care providers is associated with increased trust of the system, enhanced patient satisfaction and greater compliance with treatment regimens. In order to increase the cultural competence of health care providers the US Department of Health and Human Services has developed an online course that may be taken for CME Credit. Check it out at http://thinkculturalhealth.org/cccm/
Good Medical Practice USA September 2007
Version 0.1 of Good Medical Practice-USA is now available for broad public dissemination and comment. It is a product of the Physician Accountability for Physician Competence (PAPC) initiative, a national, multi-stakeholder effort to simplify and bring cohesion to how the medical regulatory community measures, evaluates and determines the continuing competence of a physician throughout his or her professional career. Good Medical Practice—USA describes the behaviors and values that competent physicians demonstrate under normal circumstances. It is written for physicians, but also will assist members of the public in understanding what they may expect of physicians.
Good Medical Practice—USA is a living document, meaning that it will evolve as input and feedback are received. A web site has been created to facilitate public access to the document. The web site, www.gmpusa.org, encourages visitors to post comments and feedback on the document’s content, framing, and purpose. Visitors also may download a PDF version of Good Medical Practice—USA version 0.1 directly from the web site.
Addressing Sexual Boundaries: Guidelines for State Medical Boards FSMB 2006
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) has published a set of guidelines for state medical boards to use in addressing sexual misconduct by Physicians. The guidelines apply to as well to all health providers.
Physician Sexual misconduct is defined as behavior that exploits the physician-patient relationship in a sexual way. Sexual behavior between a physician and a patient is never diagnostic or therapeutic. This behavior may be verbal or physical, and may include expressions of thoughts and feelings or gestures that are sexual or that reasonably may be construed by a patient or patient’s surrogate as sexual.
Two types of professional sexual misconduct are recognized, i.e., sexual impropriety and sexual violation. Both types are the basis for disciplinary action by a state medical board if the board determines that the behavior exploited the physician-patient relationship. Sexual impropriety may comprise behavior, gestures, or expressions that are seductive, sexually suggestive, disrespectful of patient privacy, or sexually demeaning to a patient. Sexual violation may include physical sexual contact between a physician and patient, whether or not initiated by the patient, and engaging in any conduct with a patient that is sexual or may be reasonably interpreted as sexual.
Model Policy for the Use of Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain FSMB 2004
The Model Policy for the Use of Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain was developed in collaboration with pain experts around the country to provide guidance to state medical boards in developing pain policies and regulations. Written in the form of a model policy document, the guidelines provide model language that may be used by states to clarify their positions regarding the use of controlled substances to treat pain, alleviate physician uncertainty about such practice and encourage better pain management. In 2004, the FSMB's House of Delegates adopted recommendations and revised the pain policy to reflect new medical insights in pain treatment, particularly with regard to the undertreatment of pain.