On Sunday, June 17, 2001, the AMA's House of Delegates adopted Revised Principles of Medical Ethics in what represents a rare change to this historic document in the 154-year history of the Association. The revised Principles reflect many of the original tenets that the Association has held since its inception, such as "dedication to providing competent medical care" (Principle I), " honesty in all professional interactions" (Principle II), and the "safeguard of patient confidences" (Principle IV).

These revised Principles now emphasize a physician's "responsibility to participate in activities contributing to … the betterment of public health" (Principle VII) and state that "[a] physician shall, while caring for a patient, regard responsibility to the patient as paramount" (new Principle VIII) and that "[a] physician shall support access to medical care for all people" (new Principle IX). Click below to view the newly revised Principles:

• Revised Principles of Medical Ethics (HTML)
  
• Revised Principles of Medical Ethics (PDF, 43.5KB, requires Adobe® Reader®)

The revised Principles were adopted by a two-thirds vote of the AMA's House of Delegates after having been previously presented at the 2000 Interim Meeting of the AMA. Section 13.20, "Principles of Medical Ethics," of the AMA's Constitution and Bylaws states: "The Principles of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association may be amended at any meeting on the approval of two-thirds of the members of the House of Delegates present and voting, provided that the proposed amendment shall have been introduced at the preceding meeting."

Other information about the Principles and history of the AMA's Code of Medical Ethics:

• Comparison of Revised 2001 Principles to 1980 Principles (PDF, 52.2KB)
• 1980 version of the AMA Principles of Medical Ethics (PDF, 42.7KB)
• 1957 version of the AMA Principles of Medical Ethics (PDF, 32.2KB)
• Original 1847 version of the Code of Medical Ethics (PDF, 87.7KB)
• "AMA's Principles of Medical Ethics may be infused with new 'lofty ideas'", American Medical News, Jan. 8, 2001.
  

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