This updated edition of the ACP Ethics Manual covers emerging issues in medical ethics and revisits older ones that are still pertinent. It reflects on many of the ethical tensions in medicine and the principles to be applied to emerging concerns.
Use this paper to:
- Consider whether you agree that medicine is “a profession to be entered, rather than a trade to be learned.” What is the difference?
- What is beneficence, and how do we define what is in a patient's “interest” or “best interest”? Use the accompanying editorial to help frame your thoughts.
- Under what circumstances may a physician elect to discontinue the relationship with a patient? How should this be done, if at all?
- Does telemedicine raise new ethical issues?
- Are physicians obligated to provide care to patients if doing so places the physician at risk for harm (e.g., from infection)?
- Is it appropriate to accept a gift from a patient?
- Review the ethics manual for other topics to consider.
Annals of Internal Medicine is the premier internal medicine academic journal published by the American College of Physicians (ACP). It is one of the most widely cited and influential specialty medical journals in the world.