AMA Principles for Physician Employment

The AMA Principles for Physician Employment are intended to help physicians, those who employ physicians, and their respective advisors identify and address some of the unique challenges to professionalism and the practice of medicine arising in the face of physician employment. The principles are not intended to serve as a comprehensive listing of the professional and ethical obligations of employed physicians; such obligations – which are the same for all physicians, regardless of employment status – are more fully delineated in the AMA Code of Medical Ethics. The principles a comprehensive treatment of contractual matters such as work hours, compensation models, employee benefits and other issues typically the subject of negotiation between physicians and employers; such issues are addressed elsewhere in the body of AMA policy and in the AMA's model employment agreements. Rather, it is hoped that these principles, in addressing select, potentially problematic aspects of the employer-employee relationship, will provide broad guidance for employed physicians and their employers as they collaborate to provide safe, high-quality and cost-effective patient care.