The American College of Physicians Ethics Manual is designed to help facilitate the process of making ethical decisions in clinical practice and medical research. Some aspects of medicine are fundamental and timeless. Medical practice, however, does not stand still. This seventh edition of the Manual examines emerging issues in medical ethics faced by internists and their patients and revisits older issues that are still very pertinent. The distinction and potential conflicts between legal and ethical obligations when making clinical decisions are discussed.

New or expanded sections have been added on:

Electronic communications
Telemedicine ethics
Electronic health records
Precision medicine and genetics
Caring for oneself, persons with whom the physician has a pre-existing close nonprofessional relationship or a reporting relationship, and “very important persons”
Social media and online professionalism
The changing practice environment
Gifts from patients
Population health
Physician volunteerism
Research and protection of human subjects
Innovative medical therapies and research
Internet and social media research



Also included is a revised case method for clinical ethics decision-making, which outlines steps physicians can take in resolving ethical dilemmas.