Medical professionalism:  it is really under threat?

Halasz, George

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb01261.x

Topics

To the Editor: Breen’s timely call for a reality check on medical professionalism noted major global changes that affect contemporary doctor–patient relationships: new technology, changing market forces, evidence-based treatment protocols, and resource-driven health services and policies.1 The call by our colleagues in the United States and United Kingdom to restore “trust that the public used to have in the profession” was urgent.

Department of Psychological Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: geohalasz@aol.com

1. Breen KJ. Medical professionalism: is it really under threat? Med J Aust 2007; 186: 596-598. <MJA full text>
2. Green SA, Bloch S. Working in a flawed mental health care system: an ethical challenge. Am J Psychiatry 2001; 158: 1378-1383.
3. Campbell EG, Gruen RL, Mountford J, et al. A national survey of physician–industry relationships. N Engl J Med 2007; 356: 1742-1750.
4. Charlesworth M. The new ideology of health care: ethical issues. In: Halasz G, Borenstein R, Buchanan J, et al, editors. “She won’t be right, mate!” The impact of managed care on Australian psychiatry and the Australian community. Melbourne: Psychiatrists’ Working Group, 1997: 104-110.

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