Reformulations of the brazilian medical ethics code during time and its correlations regarding the installed disciplinary procedures and merit decisions within the Regional Counsel of Medicine of the Minas Gerais state
Renata Bittar Britto Arantes, Mónica Maria Bessa Correia, Guilherme Augusto Veloso, Rui Manuel Lopes Nunes
Abstract
Introduction: contemporary medical practice has been reshaped by technological, social, and legal transformations that demand normative updates and directly impact the physician-patient relationship. The successive editions of the Medical Code of Ethics in 1988, 2009, and 2018 reflect this evolution, progressively aligning with the foundational principles of principlism in bioethics—namely, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.
Objective: this study examined whether the editorial modifications introduced in the provisions of the Medical Code of Ethics influenced the ethical-professional judgments rendered by the Regional Council of Medicine of Minas Gerais (RCM-MG) between 2012 and 2022.
Methods: this is a cross-sectional, retrospective, and analysis of 1,363 Ethical-Professional Proceedings involving 1,660 physicians. Rates of capitulation, infraction, and acquittal were compared between reworded and stable articles, using chi-square association tests. Additionally, the dosimetry of penalties applied across the three normative cycles was proportionally analyzed.
Results: reworded articles demonstrated greater disciplinary activation (58.1%) compared to stable articles (41.9%). A slight increase in acquittal rates was observed for reworded articles (27.4%) versus stable ones (24.6%), suggesting an initial phase of interpretive instability. The chi-square test (χ² = 2.381; p = 0.123) did not reveal a statistically significant association between the normative status of the article and procedural outcomes, within the 95% confidence interval. Confidential written warnings decreased from 21.3% to 13.5%, while public censure increased from 11.6% to 28.3%, indicating a shift toward more pedagogical and visible sanctions.
Conclusion: although not statistically significant, the normative modifications contributed to the systematization of disciplinary practices and to the ethical-institutional strengthening of the medical profession.
Keywords: Codes of Ethics, Ethics, Medical; Bioethics, Professional Misconduct, Physicians.
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