Are doctors who work for health insurance administration breaking the Hippocratic Oath?
Many of these health plan doctors, whose job it is to reject claims, end up being paid to violate the Hippocratic oath they took when they graduated from medical school – to “first, do no harm.” The American Medical Association’s position on physicians’ behavior outside the exam room is very clear: “Physicians in administrative and other nonclinical roles must put the needs of patients first . . . . The ethical obligations of physicians are not suspended when a physician assumes a position that does not directly involve patient care.”
