Concerns regarding legal issues affect many of the decisions which are made by the average radiologist, and often, physicians and other healthcare professionals may not appreciate the full weight of these concerns. However, such legal concerns often influence the decisions made by radiologists more than is warranted. In the everyday practice of radiology, preventing adverse legal effects means an improved understanding of the law surrounding radiology and its ramifications.
Legal Issues
Legal issues influence radiology in many different ways. Two of the main ways in which the law has an effect on the practice of radiology relate to the business affairs of radiologists, and the radiologist’s duties to perform a certain standard of care. Legal issues can relate to the various business aspects of the profession, the radiologist’s relationship to the outside world, and their relationship to their group practice. Health care law services are regularly used by radiologists for issues such as employment contracts, bylaws, group relations, and hospital privileges. When establishing standard business practices, they make decisions which can have major legal implications.
Quality of Care
Those studying for a health care law degree at law school will know that in any health profession, there are many legal implications when it comes to the quality of care delivered by a healthcare profession. This is no different for radiology, with radiologists having to abide by a strict set of laws, guidelines, and policies when it comes to things such as ensuring a timely service to patients, referring patients, refusing care, and ensuring that patients are given information about the results of a radiologic examination.
Business Decisions
Legal matters affect many of the business decisions which are made by radiology groups. For example, antitrust law is concerned with issues such as price and cost sharing, mergers, acquisitions, and patterns of practice. There are also laws which limit the right to practice radiology, such as billing practices, self-referral, conflicts of interest, employment practices and the right to refuse care all have some very substantial legal implications. Issues such as these should be a concern of every practicing radiologist, and it’s vital to understand that changes in the legal system and to healthcare law can bring about a new set of legal obligations.
Prevention of Medical-Legal Problems
An appreciation of the relationships that must be formed between radiologists and their patients is becoming more and more important when it comes to preventing a range of medical-legal problems. These types of additional duties and responsibilities happen when many physicians, healthcare practitioners and even the public at large believe that they are already overburdened with a range of legal duties and responsibilities. In order to improve job satisfaction, radiologists should be familiar with the legitimate relationship of the law to everyday life.
Radiologists are met with a lot of legal concerns as part of their career, whether this be business-related or in relation to the care of their patients. In order to improve job satisfaction and avoid legal issues as a radiologist, a good understanding of health care law is essential.