Since its adoption at the founding meeting of the American Medical Association in 1847, the AMA Code of Medical Ethics has articulated the values to which physicians commit themselves as members of the medical profession.
Together, the Principles of Medical Ethics and the Opinions of the AMA's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs make up the Code. Review why the Code is important and read the Code Preface and Preamble.
Read opinions about patient and physician interactions, treatments and use of technologies, and professional relationships and self-regulation.
Principles of Medical Ethics
The nine Principles of Medical Ethics are the primary component of the Code. They describe the core ethical principles of the medical profession.
Chapter 1: Ethics of Patient-Physician Relationships
Doctor-patient relationships are strengthened by the practice of medical ethics, which can help you create better communication and health care decisions.
Chapter 2: Ethics of Consent, Communication & Decision Making
Help your patients make well-considered decisions about their care and treatment by reading up on medical ethics of consent.
Chapter 3: Ethics of Privacy, Confidentiality & Medical Records
Respecting patients’ privacy is crucial. Find out how patient confidentiality ethics build trust, foster thoughtful decision making and improve care.
Chapter 4: Ethics of Genetics & Reproductive Medicine
Genetic testing can provide valuable information to support informed decision making about personal health care options as well as reproductive choices.
Chapter 5: Ethics of Caring for Patients at the End of Life
Find out how advance care planning can give patients peace of mind knowing that their physicians understand their wishes for care at the end of life.
Chapter 6: Ethics of Organ Procurement & Transplantation
The need for organs for transplantation far outstrips the supply. Efforts to increase donation must protect the interests of living and deceased donors.
Chapter 7: Ethics of Medical Research & Innovation
Physicians who are involved in clinical research have special responsibilities to protect the rights, safety and welfare of research participants that include matters of study design, informed consent and selection of participants.
Chapter 8: Ethics for Physicians & the Health of the Community
A doctor's job doesn't stop at individual care. Find out how caring for the health of the community can also lead to better health for individual patients.
Chapter 9: Ethics of Professional Self-Regulation
As practicing clinicians, educators, professional colleagues, businessmen and citizens, physicians should hold one another to high standards of conduct.
Chapter 10: Ethics of Interprofessional Relationships
Find out how physicians commit themselves to high standards of ethics in their relationships with fellow health professionals.
Chapter 11: Ethics of Financing & Delivery of Health Care
Patient-physician relationships are influenced by changing payment systems and models for delivering care and thus physicians must find new ways to balance responsibilities to multiple stakeholders.
What are the Basic Principles ofMedical Ethics?
Bioethicists often refer to the four basic principles of health care ethics when evaluating the merits and difficulties of medical procedures. Ideally, for a medical practice to be considered "ethical", it must respect all four of these principles: autonomy, justice, beneficence, and non-maleficence. The use of reproductive technology raises questions in each of these areas.
- Autonomy
procedures. Therefore, the decision-making process must be free of coercion or coaxing. In order for a patient to
make a fully informed decision, she/he must understand all risks and benefits of the procedure and the likelihood of
success. Because ARTs are highly technical and may involve high emotions, it is difficult to expect patients to be
operating under fully-informed consent.
- Justice
- Beneficence
- Non-maleficence
The idea that the burdens and benefits of new or experimental treatments must be distributed equally among all groups in
society. Requires that procedures uphold the spirit of existing laws and are fair to all players involved. The health care provider must consider four main areas when evaluating justice: fair distribution of scarce resources, competing needs, rights and obligations, and potential conflicts with established legislation. Reproductive technologies create ethical dilemmas because treatment is not equally available to all people.
Requires that the procedure be provided with the intent of doing good for the patient involved. Demands that health care providers develop and maintain skills and knowledge, continually update training, consider individual circumstances of all patients, and strive for net benefit.
Requires that a procedure does not harm the patient involved or others in society. Infertility specialists operate under the assumption that they are doing no harm or at least minimizing harm by pursuing the greater good. However, because
assistive reproductive technologies have limited success rates uncertain overall outcomes, the emotional state of the patient may be impacted negatively. In some cases, it is difficult for doctors to successfully apply the do no harm principle.
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