Professional courtesy, the provision of care without chargeto physicians and their immediate families, is a long-standingtradition in the medical profession. The practice, as describedin 1803 by Thomas Percival in Medical Ethics, reflects the interdependenceof "medical men, under the pressure of sickness, either as affectingthemselves or their families"1. Professional courtesy was initiallyenvisioned as a means of improving care, not of offering physiciansa bargain. The American Medical Association's first code ofethics, issued in 1847, was based in large part on Percival'swork. The code noted that "a physician afflicted with diseaseis usually . . . [Full Text of this Article]
References
Related Letters:
Professional Courtesy
Wassner J. V., Shapiro E. T., Kohn B. A., Bell H. S., Meyer J. E., Levy M. A., Arnold R. M., Kapoor W. N., Fine M. J., Steinbrook R.
Extract |
Full Text
N Engl J Med 1994;
330:1085-1086, Apr 14, 1994.
Correspondence
This article has been cited by other articles:
Wassner, J. V., Shapiro, E. T., Kohn, B. A., Bell, H. S., Meyer, J. E., Levy, M. A., Arnold, R. M., Kapoor, W. N., Fine, M. J., Steinbrook, R.
(1994). Professional Courtesy. NEJM
330: 1085-1086
[Full Text]
Algazy, J., Lachs, M.
(1994). Professional Courtesy Then and Now. Arch Intern Med
154: 257-261
[Abstract]
(1993). PROFESSIONAL COURTESY: IS IT A WISE PRACTICE?. JWatch General
1993: 7-7
[Full Text]
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