Ethics for medical group managers: patient-centered or bottom-line?

Abstract

Many physicians hire financial directors and accountants to manage their bottom line. While most of us had courses in financial and operations management, ethics was not a major part of the curriculum. This professional paper will define several ethical theories. After applying these to three moral issues--marketing, fee setting and rationing--it will outline a values clarification plan and finally will conclude by providing a framework for making moral decisions, realizing, of course, that the study of ethics offers no right or wrong responses.