What happens if you break the hippocratic oath

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Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Philosophy What happens if a doctor breaks the Hippocratic oath? Ben Davis December 12, What happens if a doctor breaks the Hippocratic oath? Is the Hippocratic Oath a law?

How is the Hippocratic oath used today? What percent of doctors take the Hippocratic oath? Do doctors still follow the Hippocratic oath?

Why is it called the Hippocratic oath? Does abortion violate the Hippocratic oath? Why is the Hippocratic Oath relevant in medicine today?

What are the 4 principles of ethics? Did Hippocrates Write the Hippocratic oath? Why is Hippocrates called the father of medicine? What is Hippocrates most famous for? Caring for patients as individuals also means leaving one's prejudice at the surgery door. Patients should be provided with the best possible care irrespective of age, sexuality, ethnicity, religious beliefs or politics.

This is particularly true of lifestyle issues. Whatever the clinician's view of smoking, obesity and drug dependency, it is his or her ethical duty to be supportive, not judgemental. The notion of confidentiality is enshrined in the Hippocratic Oath but it is not inviolable [ 3 ]. The recommendations regulating the sharing of patient-identifiable information between NHS organisations and with non-NHS organisations was set out in the Caldicott Report.

After public consultation, eight principles were published by the National Data Guardian in [ 4 ]. The legislation governing the processing of personal information is contained in the Data Protection Act. See the separate article Data Security and Caldicott Guardianship for more information. However, there are occasions when one's obligations to the safety of others and the greater public good must override one's duty of confidentiality to the patient, such as the disclosure of a serious crime.

Fortunately, comprehensive GMC guidance is available on their website to cover many eventualities [ 5 ]. These include:. Following GMC guidance does not absolve clinicians from using their own clinical judgement in individual circumstances. When in doubt, one's medical defence organisation can be most helpful. Other examples of circumstances in which the safety of a third party may override patient confidentiality are in the arenas of:. When talking with relatives, the default position is to obtain the patient's express consent.

This may be verbal but, even so, such consent should be recorded in the patient's notes. If relatives wish to raise concerns with clinicians, the GMC advises that no guarantee should be given that such a discussion will not be reported to the patient. Where a patient does not have the mental ability to make an informed decision about whether information should be disclosed ie 'lacks capacity' , the GMC recommends that the clinician should:.

To facilitate an assessment of the patient's best interests, a clinician may need to share information with the family, friends or carers or anyone authorised to represent the patient, but this does not mean allowing free access to all information. Further guidance on mental capacity can be found in the separate Mental Capacity Act article. It is not enough simply to obtain consent; that consent must be informed [ 8 ].

This raises questions about how much information should be provided and how this can best be presented in a way that the patient understands.

Informed consent applies to all medical interventions, including prescribing, and not just to procedures or operations. The case of Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board raised the issue of patient autonomy and required doctors to pay due regard to individual patient priorities and tailor information to their needs [ 9 ].

However, a balance needs to be struck. If a list of every possible complication were to be recited it is unlikely that anyone would ever take any drug or submit to any procedure. An assessment needs to be made as to whether a person under the age of 16 has the capacity to make an informed decision about their care. The courts have defined this as 'sufficient understanding and maturity to enable them to understand fully what is proposed'.

This is known as Gillick competency. The issue of Gillick competency normally arises when the question of contraception in an underage girl is considered but may be relevant in any patient under 16 who requires care. The concept of 'first do no harm' has been enshrined in medical ethics for centuries but one must bear in mind that there is no intervention that does not have some slight risk.

Thus, although doing no harm should be one's first consideration, it must not prevent the clinician from avoiding all treatments which have some risk attached. Therapeutic nihilism is as unethical as negligent practice. When providing care, consider the risks and benefits and, where significant, discuss these with the patient and record the discussion in the notes. Whereas the original oath swore allegiance to Greek deities such as Apollo, Asclepius, Hygieia and Panaceia, more modern interpretations of the oath make the covenant an entirely personal one.

Whereas the original document swore a faithful stewardship to teachers and mentors, modern text simply acknowledges the academic gains of those who have come before, and a willingness to share that knowledge with others. Ancient text also made the physician promise not to perform abortions and euthanasia, stating, "I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.

Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

The modern text of the Hippocratic Oath is less binding in practical matters, but more empathic about the moral purpose of the medical profession. It focuses on treating the sick human rather than the disease, and participating responsibly as part of the larger community of humanity.