The Interprofessional Code: Part I
| Publication year | 1986 |
| Pages | 1795 |
| Citation | Vol. 15 No. 10 Pg. 1795 |
1986, October, Pg. 1795. The Interprofessional Code: Part I
The purpose of the Interprofessional Code is to provide attorneys and physicians with a guide for harmonious interprofessional relations. The best interests of the public and the two professions require that each profession develop an enlightened and tolerant understanding of the other.
The Code is successor to The Guide for Interprofessional Relations, which was published by the Colorado Bar Association and Colorado Medical Society in 1979. The principles contained in the new Code have evolved from previous guides and numerous dispute resolutions. It is clear that many disputes between the respective members of the two professions would be avoided by consulting the principles contained in the Code. It is the aim of the Code to promote better understanding between the professions and to aid in the resolution of interprofessional disputes.
The Joint Medico-Legal Plan For Arbitrating Professional Liability Cases addresses yet another area of interaction between the legal and medical professions. The purpose of the Plan is to offer an alternative means for resolving professional liability cases. The Plan provides a means for speedy and economical resolution of claims through binding arbitration.
The Colorado Bar Association, Denver Bar Association, Colorado Medical Society and Denver Medical Society have endorsed both the Interprofessional Code and the Joint Medico-Legal Plan for Arbitrating Professional Liability Cases. Chairmen of the four organizations' Interprofessional Committees are as follows:
There are generally two types of legal cases. Criminal cases involve a charge prosecuted by a governmental body that some individual broke a criminal law and should be punished. Civil cases involve private disputes between individuals where damages or some other remedy is requested. Administrative claims such as worker's compensation or Social Security claims are a form of civil proceeding which are determined by an administrative body. These different types of cases involve different burdens of proof, different rules of procedure, and different roles for the physician witness.
The physician is most often asked to become involved in a civil lawsuit---often involving personal injuries of some kind.
In civil cases, the "plaintiff" is the party who brings the lawsuit and the "defendant" is the party who is being sued. Before a lawsuit is commenced, the injured party may be referred to as the "claimant." A civil action is started by filing a "pleading" with the court called a "Complaint" which is also then "served" on the defendant with a "Summons." The defendant must then timely file a pleading called an "Answer." Depending upon the complexity of the lawsuit, other pleadings and parties may be added. The purpose of this pleadings stage is simply to determine the
legal claims, defenses and other legal issues involved which serve as a framework for the later proceedings.
The parties may then conduct discovery where each side seeks to determine the facts or evidence relevant to the legal issues involved and which tend to support or contradict a given party's position. Various discovery devices are allowed under the Rules of Civil Procedure. These include "Interrogatories" (written questions requesting information provided under oath); "Requests for Production of Documents or Things" (written requests for documentary or tangible evidence in the possession or control of the other party); "Requests for Medical Examination (an examination by a physician or health care specialist of a party's own choosing of some physical or mental condition which has been placed "in controversy" by the opposing party); and "Depositions" (sworn testimony taken before a shorthand reporter wherein the attorneys can personally ask questions of a party or witness).
Thus, in the discovery phase, a "treating physician," i.e., one who has provided care and treatment to a party, may be asked to provide medical records, medical reports and patient billing. A treating physician may also...
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