In the U.S. According to Dr. John Patrick, in a conference at University of Wisconsin Medical School feels strongly that the abortion issue, who performed these procedures at one point, now feels that it is best left to another profession. Although in the chart above displays the decline in the “Sacredness of life” from the oath, the correlation between this and the decrease in prohibition to abortion is evident. Other changes, such as introduction of new technology have had little effect on the main ideals that make up the Hippocratic Oath. For example, patient confidentiality was considered to be a sacred bond between patient and doctor. This was to help establish trust of the doctor by the patient. A doctor couldn’t treat a patient who withheld vital symptoms for fear of public knowledge. With the recent advances in the modern microcomputer, the ready access to patient information has become a national issue to improve patient outcomes and general public healthcare. However, the patient confidentiality is at the center of these issues; A piece of Hippocratic Oath that is standing the test of time. Many of the content listed in this figure have stood strong over the centuries. After much reading and research, I think it is just as important to see what has remained unchanged in the Oath as what has changed.
Many societies have followed the medical profession and have introduced some sort of oath or code of their own. Looking at what did or didn’t work for the medical profession is a good place to start.