Value statement | Country of survey | Adjusted percentages (strongly agreeing with statement) | SE | p Value |
Making the patient your first concern, avoiding conflicts of interest | ||||
Doctors should put patients' welfare above the doctor's own financial interests | USA | 78.7 | 1.37 | 0.1932 |
UK | 82.3 | 2.23 | ||
Doctors should disclose their financial relationships with drug/medical device companies to their patients | USA | 65.4 | 1.58 | 0.0465 |
UK | 58.9 | 2.76 | ||
Providing good care, commitment to improving care, keeping up to date | ||||
Doctors should participate in peer review of the quality of care provided by colleagues—for example, by reviewing their records | USA | 54.9 | 1.67 | <0.0001 |
UK | 68.4 | 2.61 | ||
Doctors should undergo periodic recertification examinations throughout their career. | USA | 53.9 | 1.66 | <0.0001 |
UK | 23.4 | 2.44 | ||
Taking action (including relevant reporting) to deal with colleagues' poor performance | ||||
Doctors should report all instances of significantly impaired or incompetent colleagues to relevant authorities | USA | 63.1 | 1.61 | 0.2601 |
UK | 59.3 | 2.82 | ||
Maintaining confidentiality of information about patients and their conditions | ||||
Doctors should never disclose confidential patient health information to an unauthorised individual | USA | 91.1 | 0.97 | 0.0026 |
UK | 96.3 | 0.99 | ||
Being truthful to patients and to colleagues, including when things go wrong | ||||
Doctors should disclose all significant medical errors to patients who have been affected | USA | 63.5 | 1.64 | 0.0384 |
UK | 70.2 | 2.57 | ||
Doctors should fully inform all patients of the benefits and risks of a procedure or course of treatment | USA | 88.4 | 1.07 | <0.0001 |
UK | 73.8 | 2.44 | ||
Doctors should never tell a patient something that is not true (assuming the patient is competent) | USA | 83.2 | 1.24 | 0.387 |
UK | 85.3 | 1.94 | ||
Avoiding inappropriate relationships with patients | ||||
Joint business ventures with patients are ‘never appropriate’ | USA | 46.7 | 1.62 | <0.0001 |
UK | 60.0 | 2.69 | ||
Sexual relationships with patients are ‘never appropriate’ | USA | 92.1 | 0.92 | 0.8174 |
UK | 91.7 | 1.53 | ||
Accepting modest gifts from patients or patients' families is ‘never appropriate’ | USA | 11.5 | 1.06 | 0.0426 |
UK | 7.2 | 1.6 | ||
Avoiding discrimination—for example, on grounds of race and creed | ||||
Doctors should minimise disparities in care due to patient race, gender or income | USA | 84.2 | 1.21 | 0.0569 |
UK | 88.7 | 1.82 |
Values adjusted for country differences in gender, years since qualification, specialty, country of graduation and part-time working
Home graduate: graduate from a medical school in the country of survey (USA/Canada or UK).
Working full time: ≥40 h/week.