美国医师的职责

在此讨论的主要问题是，什么样的社会力量能使医师对诊治病人和技术操作的质量担负起责任？这种社会力量的来源之一是职业理念；另一种约束力来自于正规社会机构的直接管理，相关权限的依据是国家和地区规范医院和医师行为的法律。第三种规范的形式和政府司法部门紧密相关，它在很大程度上是一种间接性的约束力，涉及病人因医疗事故对医生及其投保的责任保险公司所进行的索赔和诉讼。强调了第三种力量，并突出了在医师和医疗行业圈之外的社会力量对医疗活动的指导作用。

Physician Accountability in the United States

The main question addressed is: What social forces hold a physician accountable for the quality of technical procedures and patient care? One such social force is the ideal of professionalism.A second regulating force is direct regulation through formal social institutions. These formal restraints and the privileges that accompany them pertain to state (province) and federal (nationwide) laws that regulate physician and hospital practices.A third form of practice regulation for physicians relates to the judicial branch of government. This type of regulation is indirect for the most part. It involves malpractice claims and suits brought by patients against physicians and the medical liability companies that insure them. With an emphasis on this third form of regulation, this paper highlights how forces outside the physician and the medical work place guide his or her behaviors and practices when a patient is being examined.