A-22: CEJA Open Forum: Ethical Challenges of Physician Employment

The percentage of physicians who own their own practice has been declining steadily for more than two decades in the face of ongoing change in how and where health care is delivered. As physicians increasingly become employees of large health care institutions and systems—50.2% of 3500 physicians responding to AMA's 2020 Practice Benchmark Survey—they no longer have sole control of how they interact with patients or practice as medical professionals. These new environments can give rise to tensions between expectations different stakeholders have for medicine as a profession and medicine as a business.

This 90-minute live educational activity will feature a 5-member panel comprised of a representative from the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) and stakeholders among physicians who have transitioned from private into employed practice. In addition to questions addressed among panelists the activity will direct a series of questions to participants about their own experiences, with responses captured electronically. Responses will help inform future CEJA work in this area. The session will conclude with a 20-minute “open mike” opportunity for participants to raise additional topics for CEJA's consideration.