title: Rethinking the Standard of Care in Treating Professional Athletes.
abstract: There is public discussion and debate about the role of the team physician in professional sports. There is uncertainty over whether a separate legal standard of care should apply when treating professional athletes. This article advocates a single standard of care for all patients. This article also proposes that it would be useful for team physicians to develop a consensus that there should be a health policy for professional athletes. This health policy should aspire that professional athletes can complete their career, while minimizing the risk of cognitive or physical injuries that affect later quality of life.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina School of Law, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poma
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Seth L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Sherman
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Spence
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Lawrence H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Brenner
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA. Electronic address: balb@health.missouri.edu.
authors.forename: B Sonny
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Bal
mesh_terms: D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D000068958:Return to Sport; D012307:Risk Factors; D013178:Sports Medicine / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D059039:Standard of Care; D014481:United States
keywords: Professional athlete; Sports medicine; Standard of care