San Diego Law Review
Document Type
Article
Abstract
This Article advocates disclosure as a compromise between wholeheartedly embracing financial incentives and flatly prohibiting them, and suggests using fiduciary law to compel such disclosure. This Article also argues that courts should recognize a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty when a physician fails to disclose managed care financial incentives to her patients. Part I gives a brief overview of fiduciary law and fiduciary duties. Part II examines the fiduciary nature of the physician-patient relationship and looks at court cases that have characterized the physician-patient relationship as a fiduciary relationship. Part Ill discusses the only two published opinions that have addressed the issue of whether a patient can bring a breach of fiduciary claim against a physician. Building on these two cases, Part IV recommends that courts recognize a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty for failure to disclose managed care financial incentives and discusses the remedies for breach. Finally, Part V examines the benefits and limits of disclosure as a way of dealing with financial incentives.
Recommended Citation
Kim Johnston,
Patient Advocates or Patient Adversaries? Using Fiduciary Law to Compel Disclosure of Managed Care Financial Incentives,
35
San Diego L. Rev.
(1998).
Available at:
https://digital.sandiego.edu/sdlr/vol35/iss4/2