The American Medical Ethics Revolution: How the AMA's Code of Ethics Has Transformed Physicians' Relationships to Patients, Professionals, and Society [Hardcover]

Robert B. Baker (Editor), Arthur L. Caplan (Editor), Linda L. Emanuel (Editor), Stephen R. Latham (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0801861705 | ISBN-13: 978-0801861703 | Publication Date: November 10, 1999 | Edition: 1

The American Medical Association enacted its Code of Ethics in 1847, the first such national codification. In this volume, a distinguished group of experts from the fields of medicine, bioethics, and history of medicine reflect on the development of medical ethics in the United States, using historical analyses as a springboard for discussions of the problems of the present, including what the editors call "a sense of moral crisis precipitated by the shift from a system of fee-for-service medicine to a system of fee-for-system medicine, better known as 'managed care.'"

The authors begin with a look at how the medical profession began to consider ethical issues in the 1800s and subsequent developments in the 1900s. They then address the sociological, historical, ethical, and legal aspects of the practice of medicine. Later chapters discuss current and future challenges to medical ethics and professional values. Appendixes display various versions of the AMA's Code of Ethics as it has evolved over time.

Contributors: George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H., Arthur Isak Applbaum, Ph.D., Robert B. Baker, Ph.D., Chester R. Burns, M.D., Ph.D., Arthur L. Caplan, Ph.D., Alexander Morgan Capron, J.D., Christine K. Cassel, M.D., Linda L. Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., Eliot L. Freidson, Ph.D., Albert R. Jonsen, Ph.D., Stephen R. Latham, J.D., Ph.D., Susan E. Lederer, Ph.D., Florencia Luna, Ph.D., Edmund D. Pellegrino, M.D., Charles E. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Mark Siegler, M.D., Rosemary A. Stevens, Ph.D., Robert M. Tenery, Jr., M.D., Robert M. Veatch, Ph.D., John Harley Warner, Ph.D., Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book will be of value to individuals interested in the history of medicine and the role that codes of ethics have played in that history, in the ethical issues that arise in the promulgation of codes of ethics, and in the way codes of ethics can and can't help us deal with changes brought about by managed care and by breakthroughs in medical technology.

(William B. Irvine Ethics )

This volume gives a good example of how a discussion of the history of medical ethics can provide the grounding for a well-informed debate on present and future problems in professional ethics and health care.

(Andreas-Holger Maehle Medical History )

A sophisticated accoutn of the social and historical processes shaping the AMA Code of Ethics from the late 17th century to the present day.

(Fern Brunger Canadian Bulletin of Medical History )

Oaths embody a distinctive form of ethics. They are activated by the performative utterance 'I swear' and are couched in the first person singular. All these features make them inherently personal. Codes, by contrast, are collaborative. The transition from the personal ethics of oaths to the professional ethics of codes thus marks a radical transition from personally interpreted 'gentlemanly' ethics to collaboratively interpreted professional ethics—a transition so radical that it is properly described as a revolution.

(from the Introduction )

Book Description

To reflect on medical ethics past as means of illuminating our understanding of medical ethics present and future.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; 1 edition (November 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801861705
• ISBN-13: 978-0801861703
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,229,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)