A basic activity of the FMA throughout its existence has been to promote
ethical principles. When the Association was established in 1910, the first
President expressed the hope that it would become the heart and conscience of
the medical profession. The rapid development of medicine constantly confronts doctors with new
ethical issues. Ethical issues are reviewed by the FMA Ethics Committee. Every
few years, the FMA publishes a compilation of the opinions of its Ethics
Committee and ethical guidelines issued by the Association. This publication is
distributed to all Association members. In 1993, Finland became the first country in Europe to enact
legislation relating to the status and rights of patients. The legislation
provides that each permanent resident of Finland is entitled to the health and
medical care that her or his state of health requires, within the limits of
resources available for health care. Patient care must be arranged in such a way
that the dignity of the patient is not impaired. Each patient's privacy must be
respected. The mother tongue of the patient, and the patient's individual needs
and culture must be taken into account in providing treatment. In response to an initiative taken by the FMA, the World Medical Association
(WMA) has adopted the Declaration on the
Rights of the Patient which is binding on the medical profession in every
country. Finland has also been active in establishing other ethical provisions
internationally, via both the WMA and the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME). In
recent years, the WMA has, in response to initiatives taken by the FMA, adopted
the Declaration with Guidelines for Continuous Quality Assessment in Health
Care and the Statement on Accountability, Responsibilities and the Ethical
Guidelines in the Practice of Telemedicine. The FMA also made significant
contributions to amendment of the Ethical Principles for Medical Research
Involving Human Subjects (the
Declaration of Helsinki).ETHICS
Rights of the patients
FMA >
Ethics Förbund
The Finnish Medical Association -
Health Care and the Medical Profession in Finland
Association
