The American Academy of Dermatology Ethics Committee: how it works and what you need to know

The American Academy of Dermatology Ethics Committee has a key role in assessing members' adherence to the Code of Medical Ethics. It performs no disciplinary action on its own, referring validated complaints for judicial review. The most frequent complaints that the Ethics Committee has received in recent years have been cases involving expert witness testimony, complaints about American Academy of Dermatology members promoting products and services of questionable benefit for patients through false, misleading, and deceptive advertising and self-promotion, and reports of misuse of nonphysician clinicians. The steps by which a complaint is received and processed are detailed.