American Medical Association Wire editor Kevin O'Reilly recently wrote that when doctors want to follow Jeff Bezos' lead in giving money to charity, there is an American Medical Association (AMA) outline to consider.
O'Reilly wrote that Bezos, the man behind Amazon.com, not long ago took to Twitter to ask for ideas on how he could give some of his massive wealth to charity.
O'Reilly wrote that Bezos had gotten almost 50,000 people to give him ideas by the middle of July.
O'Reilly outlined that when doctors want to find ways to give to charity and want to ask those they treat to contribute, they should look at the American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics to start.
Section 2.3.5 of the Medical Ethics Code encourages doctors to raise money for charity and to ask those they tend to help them in collecting money to give to charity. That section of the Medical Ethics Code also says that the doctors who do raise money ought to tell those they tend to that whether those they care for choose to give or don't choose to give will not affect the doctors helping them the best they can. Those doctors also ought to not come right out and ask their patients for money, and that point is most important during appointments. Those doctors who want to raise money also should consider putting out details for how their patients can donate to their cause either in the waiting lobbies of their offices or by telling those they tend to about their causes at get-togethers to raise money.
