Law Commons^™

Resurrection Of The Prohibition On The Corporate Practice Of Medicine: Teaching Old Dogma New Tricks, Andre Hampton

Faculty Articles

The corporate practice of medicine doctrine was a creature of the organized medical profession, state legislatures, and the courts in an effort to both protect the physician-patient relationship and help physicians operate as fiduciaries. It aimed at improving the reputation of the medical profession by prohibiting entanglements between a physician’s professional judgment and the profit-making endeavors of lay organizations. The doctrine found its genesis in ethical codes promulgated by the American Medical Association (AMA), which essentially prevented physicians from taking salaried positions, or splitting professional fees, with lay organizations. The rationale was that such a doctrine was necessary in order …