Bad Measures Don’t Make Good Medicine: The Ethical Implications of Unreliable and Invalid Physician Performance Measures

Drawing on the performance appraisal and medical literatures, we examine representative ethical issues involved in current appraisal practices of individual physicians: the use of invalid and unreliable measures; organizational goals conflicting with patient health goals; using individual measures f...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Labig, Chalmer E. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V 2009
In: Journal of business ethics
Year: 2009, Volume: 88, Issue: 2, Pages: 287-295
Further subjects:B Ethics
B Physicians
B quality medicine
B Performance Appraisal
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Drawing on the performance appraisal and medical literatures, we examine representative ethical issues involved in current appraisal practices of individual physicians: the use of invalid and unreliable measures; organizational goals conflicting with patient health goals; using individual measures for what are group performance results; making individual attributions for what are systemic causes (and results); and using clinical feedback for organizational purposes. Suggestions for developing more ethical performance appraisals include reflecting upon the multiple purposes and means of appraisals, and the limitations of current practices. Greater understanding of the effects of current appraisal practices on physicians can help minimize its potentially adverse consequences on the delivery of quality healthcare.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10551-008-9963-1