Code of Medical Ethics modernized for contemporary medicine

The central role of ethics in medicine was demonstrated today as the nation's physician leaders voted to adopt a modernized Code of Medical Ethics during the American Medical Association's Annual Meeting. Today's vote capped an eight-year project to modernize the Code's ethical guidance for relevance, clarity and consistency.

"Contemporary medicine must remain moral medicine during the current rapid pace of change in health care delivery system, and just as it did during its founding, the AMA has responded to this challenge by again putting ethics on center stage," said AMA President Steven J. Stack, M.D. "The comprehensive update to the Code's ethics guidance keeps pace with emerging demands physicians face with new technologies, changing patient expectations and shifting health care priorities."