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AMA aims lie detector at tobacco testimony

Association system will not review testimony in other medical-related cases.

By Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. July 7, 2003.

Chicago -- The American Medical Association now has a mechanism to help uncover physicians who may have made false statements when testifying about tobacco.

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The Association will investigate complaints, determine if the information is false and give the information to other entities that have the power to take action against the doctor.

Here's how it will work:

• Complaints first go to the AMA's Office of the General Counsel and the AMA's unit on Science and Community Health Advocacy.
• If those groups believe the testimony was not honest and truthful, the physician who gave the testimony is notified so he or she can respond.
• The AMA staff can get additional input from appropriate state, county or specialty medical organizations or appropriate scientists or experts.
• All of the information then goes to the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs. The council has the right to reject the physician's membership application, expel an existing member, accept a membership application with probation terms attached, put a member on probation, suspend a member, or admonish, reprimand or censure an applicant or existing member.
• If CEJA decides not to review the complaint, the Board of Trustees can take it up and decide whether to notify the appropriate licensing boards about the complaint.
• A decision on the complaint is reported to state, county or specialty societies to which the doctor belongs.

The system to review testimony is the result of a House of Delegates request at the Association's Annual Meeting in June that the AMA find a way to investigate claims that a physician gave false testimony about tobacco. Delegates also asked the AMA to develop a way to let medical societies to which the physician belongs know about the findings. The AMA also would let the appropriate state medical licensing boards know so the boards could take action against a physician who gave false testimony.

The AMA is taking on tobacco-related testimony -- and not all forms of medical- or health-related testimony -- because the Association believes it has the expert internal resources to review this type of testimony, AMA Trustee Ronald M. Davis, MD, said.

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Copyright 2003 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

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