Code designed to meet needs of patients in 21st century.

Feb. 5 — European and American doctors unveiled a new professional code of conduct on Tuesday, an update of the nearly 2,500-year-old Hippocratic oath designed to help doctors meet the needs of patients in the 21st century.

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 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 reaffirm 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 reassert 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 today are more knowledgeable about their health problems and are no longer unquestioning recipients of medicine care. Doctors, in turn, are faced with problems in healthcare delivery systems, an explosion in new technology and ethical dilemmas.

MORE ACCOUNTABILITY
“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,” 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 joint American-British collaboration. 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.