Independent Medical Care and Unchallengeable Authority in a Pandemic
Athletics Veritas is a weekly series aimed at helping higher education executives, faculty, and other stakeholders stay tuned in on trending national issues impacting college athletics, especially NCAA Division I. Athletics Veritas is created by senior DI athletic administrators around the nation.
Term-in-Ology: Independent Medical Care and Unchallengeable Authority in a Pandemic -- March’s Medical Madness
One key NCAA policy that was codified in recent years intended to protect college athletics medical personnel’s ability to administer independent medical care free of influence from coaches and staff members. In 2016, Division I adopted the following:
“An active member institution shall establish an administrative structure that provides independent medical care and affirms the unchallengeable autonomous authority of primary athletics health care providers (team physicians and athletic trainers) to determine medical management and return-to-play decisions related to student-athletes. An active institution shall designate an athletics health care administrator to oversee the institution's athletic health care administration and delivery.”
In the context of the upcoming conference and NCAA basketball tournaments, this policy plays a key role in reaffirming team physicians’ and lead athletic trainers’ ability to confirm any positive COVID-19 tests and/or contact tracing implications of any men’s or women’s basketball student-athletes.
As basketball goes, there is no greater pressure -- even in a non-pandemic era -- on trainers and physicians this month than ensuring teams are cleared to participate in postseason tournaments. This policy helps support and reinforce medical personnel’s ability to render decisions in an independent and unchallengeable fashion where a trainer confirming a few student-athletes must sit out due to contact tracing, for example, is not overruled via a coach or other staff member’s pressure to clear everyone to play.
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
