While responsibility for quality of care does not rest solely with physicians, their role is essential. Individually and collectively, physicians should actively engage in efforts to improve the quality of health care by:
- Keeping current with best care practices and maintaining professional competence.
- Holding themselves accountable to patients, families, and fellow health care professionals for communicating effectively and coordinating care appropriately.
- Using new technologies and innovations that have been demonstrated to improve patient outcomes and experience of care, in keeping with ethics guidance on innovation in clinical practice and stewardship of health care resources.
- Monitoring the quality of care they deliver as individual practitioners—e.g., through personal case review and critical self-reflection, peer review, and use of other quality improvement tools.
- Demonstrating commitment to develop, implement, and disseminate appropriate, well- defined quality and performance improvement measures in their daily practice.
- Participating in educational, certification, and quality improvement activities that are well designed and consistent with the core values of the medical profession.
AMA Principles of Medical Ethics: I, V, VII, VIII
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