Doctors' Professionalism Is A Privilege, Not Rights: MMA

KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 (Bernama) -- Doctor's professional status is not an inherent right but is a privilege granted by society, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) President Datuk Dr Teoh Siang Chin said.
He said the maintenance of this privilege would depend on the public's belief of the profession's trustworthiness.
"This privilege is accorded to the doctor due to the professional qualification, training and vocation as a compassionate healer," he said in a statement Wednesday.
The statement came in response to a survey on trust in integrity conducted by Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia (BEIM) that placed doctors as the top professionals trusted.
The survey, conducted in collaboration with the Binary University College and the University of Nottingham, Malaysia, saw 72 per cent of the 2,074 respondents felt doctors tell the truth.
Honoured by the results of the survey, Dr Teoh said MMA had always been instrumental in formulating and updating their ethical code to meet new challenges posed by changing practice and societal norms.
With the growing awareness and access to information, he said more people had better understanding of their health needs and this resulted in greater public expectation on better professional communication and explicit accountability.
He said the individual level of a doctor-patient relationship was a collaborative partnership to restore or maintain good health and doctors always appreciated patients who made their own choice of physicians to promote mutual consent.
The society needed doctors who were skilled and professionally updated besides uncompromisingly ethical and passionately committed to healing, he added.
"The essence and substance of professionalism should be taught at all levels of medical education as part of the profession's response to the changing societal expectations," he said.