How a bill becomes a law and how physicians can influence the process.

VOLUME 93 NO. 6 JUNE 2010 The American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics includes twelve Principles of Medical Ethics. Principle III states, "A physician shall respect the law and also recognize a responsibility to seek changes in those requirements which are contrary to the best interests of the patient." Principle VII states, "A physician shall recognize a responsibility to participate in activities contributing to the improvement of the community and the betterment of public health." Together these principles call physicians to advocate for their patients when existing laws or regulations do not serve their best interest. As physicians, we are uniquely qualified to fulfill this responsibility since we see first hand the good and the bad of our health care system. Organized medicine’s role in this process is mainly in two areas, legislative advocacy and political action. On the legislative side, we lobby the state legislature on bills that affect physicians and patients, and we lobby the Health Department, Governor’s office, and other state and local agencies about regulations they promulgate. We have bills introduced to improve health care delivery and oppose bills that harm patients and physicians. On the political action side, we support and try to help elect those political candidates that are friendly to medicine.