GAIN SHARING AND MEDICAL ETHICS

In the field of health care and medical practice, gain sharing plans should be carefully examined to be sure they reflect the codes of ethics. Ethical principles involved in gain sharing include informed consent and conflict of interest. Physicians must discharge their responsibilities to patients with loyalty, honesty and good faith, all the while avoiding conflict of interest. Conflict of interest rules usually focus on financial gain. This may raise some important issues, including kickbacks, fee-splitting and self-referral. These practices can potentially distort professional judgment. Some countries have rules of professional conduct governing these issues. In this article, we intend to describe importance of the issues of kickbacks, fee-splitting and self-referral in the field of clinical medicine and discuss some ethical issues that should be considered by physicians.