The physicians of the Massachusetts Medical Society applaud the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) for the guidance issued this week to advance integrity and transparency in reproductive health care in the Commonwealth. The Medical Society, guided by longstanding organizational policy, stands with DPH and the Healey-Driscoll administration in affirming the core tenets of evidence-based medicine and patient autonomy, including their right to receive complete and accurate information to ensure informed decision-making and access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care.
One of the most vital tenets of medical ethics governing the patient-physician relationship is trust built on open and honest communication about all health issues – trust in the health care system is similarly founded on organizational transparency about intent and scope of services offered. Access to comprehensive, evidence-based reproductive health care services is critical for patient health. Patients have a right to seek care and be informed about their sexual and reproductive health. This guidance importantly reminds physicians and all health care providers of our responsibilities and ethical duties to our patients and seeks to ensure that providers and clinics are operating on those principles in a manner that is transparent and free from deceptive practices.
Our patients deserve no less.
-Barbara S. Spivak, MD, President, Massachusetts Medical Society
