The influence of a professional organization on physician behavior.

As many commentators have observed, our society often operates on the basis of the technological imperative: advances in medicine and in other fields are used because they are available, for their own sake, rather than for the overall good of the public.1 For example, cardiopulmonary resuscitation ("CPR") is sometimes administered to patients for whom there is virtually no possibility of restoring cardiac function, simply on the presumption that CPR should be applied to any patient whose heart has ceased beating.2 Medical innovations may also be misused on account of invidious biases. Tests for genetic abnormalities have been used in the past as a basis to unfairly discriminate against individuals who carry the abnormalities.3 Other inappropriate biases may also drive the use of innovations. For example, excessive resources have been devoted to certain technologies because of a societal bias in favor of treatment rather than prevention.4 To ensure that medical innovations are used in an ethically responsible fashion, a variety of approaches have been used. Professional societies establish guidelines,5 insurers employ utilization