The Man
Posted on 02/05/2002 9:50:37 AM PST by billorites
London — European and American doctors unveiled a new professional code of conduct on Tuesday, an update of the nearly 2,500-year-old Hippocratic oath which is designed to help doctors meet the needs of patients in the 21st century.
The professional charter aims to restore public confidence in the medical profession which has been badly bruised by cases of misconduct, to help doctors cope with ethical problems in the modern world and to re-affirm the profession's commitment to putting the needs of the patient first.
Professor George Alberti, president of the Royal College of Physicians in London, described the charter, published jointly in The Lancet medical journal and the Annals of Internal Medicine, as a guide to modern medical practice.
"The role of the professional is being questioned more and more by the public, by the government and by the media. I think we need to re-assert what it means to be a professional," he said.
Patient autonomy and choice, working in teams and respecting other professionals are issues relevant to doctors today but were not important during the time of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine who was born in Greece around 460 BC.
The ethical code attributed to the Greek physician has been used as a guide of conduct for the medical profession for ages. It tells doctors: "You will exercise your art solely for the cure of your patients, and will give no drug, perform no operation, for a criminal purpose."
Patients are more knowledgeable now about their health problems and are no longer unquestioning recipients of medical care. Doctors, in turn, are faced with problems in healthcare delivery systems, an explosion in new technology and ethical dilemmas.
"I think there is room for some modification and updating [of the oath] to reflect today's world which is a much more accountable and hopefully open world," Dr. Alberti said.
Christopher Davidson, the secretary general of the European Federation of Internal Medicine, said the new code of ethics is a milestone in improving the patient-physician relationship.
"We are dedicated to implementing it across the continent as a set of professional values that empower both doctors and patients in the 21st Century," he said in a statement.
The charter is a collaborative effort. Launched by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine (ACP-ASIM) and the European Federation of Internal Medicine (EFIM), it clearly sets out responsibilities to ensure patient care.
It commits doctors to improve access and the quality of care for patients, to maintain appropriate relations, to be honest with them and to maintain their confidentiality. It also urges doctors to maintain a level of professional competence, to keep up with scientific advances and to avoid conflicts of interest.
"The charter incorporates our traditional understanding or professional norms into the circumstances of the practice of medicine today, and is intended to provide guidance to physicians faced with a variety of new ethical challenges," said Troy Brennan, the chairman of the Medical Professionalism Project that drafted the charter.
I expect the camel's nose will be in the tent as regards euthanasia, gay adoptions and other lovely "improvements."
Only someone who would have a Fundamentalist, literal interpretation of the 2500 year old Hippocratic Oath would try to make it "more relevant". It's not about whether you would give your patient a pessary (in the HO you swear not to), it's about subscribing to an ancient code of conduct, dedication and service embodied by Hippocrates.
That's what he means by an operation for a criminal purpose.
I SWEAR by Apollo the physician, and Aesculapius, and Health, and All-heal, and all the gods and goddesses, that, according to my ability and judgment, I will keep this Oath and this stipulation
- to reckon him who taught me this Art equally dear to me as my parents, to share my substance with him, and relieve his necessities if required;
to look upon his offspring in the same footing as my own brothers, and to teach them this art, if they shall wish to learn it, without fee or stipulation;
and that by precept, lecture, and every other mode of instruction, I will impart a knowledge of the Art to my own sons, and those of my teachers, and to disciples bound by a stipulation and oath according to the law of medicine, but to none others.
I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous.
I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion.
With purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my Art. I will not cut persons laboring under the stone, but will leave this to be done by men who are practitioners of this work.
Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick, and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption; and, further from the seduction of females or males, of freemen and slaves.
Whatever, in connection with my professional practice or not, in connection with it, I see or hear, in the life of men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret. While I continue to keep this Oath unviolated, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the art, respected by all men, in all times! But should I trespass and violate this Oath, may the reverse be my lot!
[Me talking now and not Hippocrates] There are only 11 medical schools in the US (out of 127) that currently have the abortion line in. And, not all med schools use this oath to begin with.
The Man
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