The Birth of an Ethics Charter for Pain Medicine

Abstract

In Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, 1953, “ethics” is defined as “the science of moral duty; more broadly the science of the ideal human character and the ideal ends of human action.” From a more pragmatic point of view, ethics in the medical world and, more specifically, in pain medicine, is, by and large, a roadmap that allows us to keep practicing in the face of an increasingly complex—and often confusing and contradictory—environment without losing our way and ending in bedlam, jail, or forced retirement. Ethics has always been part of medicine. Through human history, morality has been an integral part of any medical decision. However, in the last 50 years, the field of medical ethics has been formally established and is now an essential part of the teaching and practice of medicine. Some sort of guidelines or laws for practicing morally acceptable medicine have existed for at least 4,000 years, through, for instance, the Code …