The Hippocratic Coprus recognized the interaction of 'business' and patient-health moral considerations, and urged that the former be subordinated to the latter. During the 1800s with the growth of complexity in both scientific knowledge and the organization of health services, the medical ethical codes addressed themselves to elaborate rules of conduct to be followed by the members of the newly emerging national medical associations. After World War II the World Medical Association was established as an international forum where national medical associations could debate the ethical problems presented by modern medicine. The International Code of Medical ethics and the Declaration of Geneva were written as 20th century restatements of the medical profession's commitment to the sovereignty of the patient-care norm. Many ethical statements have been issued by the World Medical Association in the past 35 years; they show the variety and difficulties of contemporary medical practice. The newest revisions were approved by the General Assembly of the World Medical Association in Venice, Italy October 1983. Their content is examined and concern is voiced about the danger of falling into cultural relativism when questions about the methods of financing medical services are the subject of an ethical declaration which is arrived at by consensus in the W.M.A.
KIE: Self-regulation by members of a profession is analyzed as having an ethical component involving a moral commitment. Codes of ethics are seen as functioning to guarantee quality of performance and to outline the standards and limits of practice. The Hippocratic Oath, Percival's Medical Ethics, and current international codes are discussed. While the Hippocratic Oath urged that patient-health moral considerations be the physician's first duty above "business" considerations, technological and other modern medical developments have multiplied business concerns, and such concerns are related to the socioeconomic structure of each society. Physicians must examine the impact of health care delivery systems on their ability to care well for patients.