This document discusses medical ethics and provides information on several related topics:
- It defines medical ethics as moral principles that guide medical practice and relationships between medical professionals and patients.
- Several historical milestones in the development of medical ethics codes are mentioned, such as the Hippocratic Oath from 460-377 BC and the World Medical Association's adoption of an International Code of Medical Ethics in 1949.
- Key principles of medical ethics are outlined, including autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, truth, confidentiality, social responsibility, and justice.
- Doctors' duties to patients related to care, respect, communication, competence, honesty, and confidentiality are summarized.