Come One, Come All, Come None

Two years ago, the Annals of Internal Medicine published a physician charter on professionalism.¹ The charter was based on the premise that changes in health care delivery systems throughout the industrialized world threaten the professional values of medicine. It outlined 3 fundamental principles of professionalism and 10 specific professional responsibilities. Among the principles were the primacy of patient welfare and social justice; among the professional responsibilities was the commitment to improving access to care.