An Upgraded Hippocratic Oath Is Needed In The Digital And A.I. Era

The Hippocratic Oath is the most famous text in Western medicine. It constitutes the ethical basis of the medical profession. For centuries, it has provided an overview of the principles of this noble mission and doctors’ professional behaviour. At the dawn of a new era in medicine, it is high time to rewrite the Oath so that it would reflect the state of technological development, changes in social structures and in general, the requirements of the 21st century. These are our suggestions. What is the Hippocratic Oath? Used by many medical schools at graduation ceremonies, the medical profession adopted the Oath of Hippocrates as its ethical code of conduct centuries ago. . That’s not a mere chance. The text articulates perfectly what the noble profession of being a doctor entails and in a compact overview takes a side in every major ethical issue a physician might encounter during their career. Only a few know that although the oath bears the name of Hippocrates, the well-known Greek physician, there is no evidence that he wrote it. It is claimed that the document was created 100 years after his death; still some 2500 years ago. Source: https://brianpagan.net/2010/first-do-no-harm-towards-a-hippocratic-oath-for-designers/ What does the Hippocratic Oath mean today? The majority of physicians believe the Oath still has relevance today, although opinions are extremely divided. In 2016, Medscape had a poll to measure opinions about the relevance of H...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Bioethics Future of Medicine Medical Education digital health Healthcare technology med student MedEd hippocratic oath code of conduct Source Type: blogs