Where We Stand
Section: Attorney-Physician Relationships
Policy: Statement of Principles Governing Certain Lawyer-Physician Relationships
Appendix F
Physicians and lawyers are each members of a profession dedicated to furnishing professional skills and service to the public. Certain problems have arisen in each profession in connection with the other than might result in detriment to the patients or clients of each profession, to the professions themselves, and to the public as a whole.
In an endeavor to create a better understanding and a closer relationship and unity between the legal and medical professions; that each may better serve the other and the public, and in order to provide a solution to certain common problems, the following Rules of Conduct have been adopted by the Oregon State Bar and the Oregon Medical Association, each in convention assembled:
1. Committee Organization – Each organization shall appoint three or more members from its profession who shall serve on a committee, one to serve for a term of one year, another for a term of two years, and a third for a term of three years, and thereafter members shall be appointed for a term of not less than three years; and said six or more individuals shall constitute the Joint Medical-Legal Committee. Such committee shall:
a. Promulgate such suggestions as may be necessary to carry into effect the Rules of Conduct hereby adopted.
b. Jointly attempt to mediate and arbitrate, in the first instance, any disputes arising between individual physicians and attorneys or between the two professions.
c. Report annually to each of said organizations the work of the committee during the year and make such recommendations as the committee deems desirable.
2. Cooperation – Members of the legal profession shall not give medical advice to their clients and members of the medical profession shall not give legal advice to their patients.
3. Medical Reports –
a. No attorney should request and no physician should furnish any information concerning the history, physical condition, diagnosis or prognosis of a patient except with the written consent of the patient or in conformity with the rules of the Workers’ Compensation Department of the State of Oregon, Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure, or other applicable legal authority.
b. In the absence of contractual provisions to the contrary, the patient, or his attorney as his duly authorized agent, shall be entitled, upon written request, to a prompt report from the attending or treating physician concerning history, findings, treatment, diagnosis and prognosis, whether or not a governmental agency, insurance carrier, or third party is responsible for the patient’s care.
c. It is the obligation of the attorney to designate the type of report he requires.
d. If a medical examination is requested or arranged by a party adverse to the individual being examined, or by a prospective employer as a pre-employment medical examination, the report of such examination shall be made directly to the person arranging for such examinations and to no other individual or agency.
4. Pre-trial Discussions – Subject to the physician-patient privilege, pre-trial discussions between physicians and attorneys of the medical questions involved shall be encouraged.
5. Testimony – Treating and consulting physicians shall be available for testimony in court regarding the patient’s condition, treatment, diagnosis, prognosis and other matters upon request of the patient or his attorney after reasonable notice is given.
6. Fees and Charges –
a. The physician shall be entitled to charge a reasonable fee for medical reports, conferences with attorneys, and medical testimony.
b. Charges for mechanical copying of previously prepared reports shall be billed on the basis of clerical time, effort and materials involved on the part of the physician’s staff.
c. Fees for medical testimony shall not be contingent upon outcome of the litigation.
d. If scheduled medical testimony is cancelled, the physician shall be entitled to charge depending on the time of notice and nature of practice.
e. An attorney shall not charge a fee to the physician for obtaining payment of a bill for medical services in personal injury litigation.
f. The attorney has an obligation to use every appropriate means to see that medical fees are paid by the client when money is disbursed either after settlement or after a judgment has been obtained.
g. Whenever medical reports, conferences, or medical testimony are requested by an attorney, it will be conclusively presumed that the attorney has made arrangements with the client for payment and all reasonable charges shall be paid promptly by the attorney.
h. If a proposed settlement or actual recovery is insufficient to cover all expenses and the attorney, on behalf of the client-patient, wishes to propose a proportionate reduction of the medical or hospital bill or both, it is suggested that the attorney should present in writing the proposed or actual gross receipt of funds and the proposed plan of settlement, including the normal or contractual attorney fee and the actual amount the attorney proposes to charge in such instance.
7. Records Belonging to Physician – All original records of attending physicians made in connection with treatment and care of the patient, including radiographs and reports of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, are the property of the physician.
8. Reasonable Inquiry – An attorney shall make reasonable inquiry to determine if there has been a doctor-patient relationship before issuing a subpoena or demanding a report from a doctor.
(As approved and adopted by the Oregon State Bar and the Oregon Medical Association and revised in November, 1984.)