ACP's Ethics Manual is the foundation of College policy on medical ethics and professionalism. The Seventh Edition of this code of medical ethics was published in January 2019 in Annals of Internal Medicine.
The Manual reflects on the ethical tenets of medicine and their application in new circumstances, but also revisits older topics that are still very pertinent. While issues are constantly emerging, it is critical to recognize that aspects of medicine such as the patient-physician relationship are fundamental, timeless, and need to be reaffirmed in the face of technological and other challenges. Physicians should be prepared to deal with emerging issues and controversies in medical ethics and professionalism, and to identify and reaffirm what is fundamental, applying principles and reasoned arguments in debates.
New or significantly expanded sections of the Manual since the sixth edition include electronic communications; telemedicine ethics; electronic health record ethics; precision medicine and genetics; social media and online professionalism; the changing practice environment; population health; physician volunteerism; research and protection of human subjects; and a revised case method for ethics decision making.
- View the full text of the Ethics Manual, seventh edition, in the
- View a detailed Table of Contents with links to individual sections of the Ethics Manual, seventh edition
- A booklet version of the Ethics Manual, seventh edition, is .
- A , seventh edition, is now available.
- Ethics Manual, seventh edition, CME and MOC credits are available to ACP members and Annals subscribers
For more information, including questions about previous editions of the Manual, contact Lois Snyder Sulmasy, JD, at lsnyder@acponline.org, or at 215.351.2835. Send requests for a reprint of the English or Spanish version of the Manual to ethics@acponline.org.