Protect “Good Medical Practice” in Australia: safeguard the Medical Board Code of Conduct.

A vital standard for medical practice would be removed if patients or families stopped doctors from discussing what is medically relevant to their care, based on adhering to what is "medically safe”. It is not good medical practice to restrict a medical professional's freedom to exercise sound clinical judgement and "first, do no harm."

Doctors should not have to comply with directions that go against their conscience or that they do not feel is in the best interest of their patients.

Does this mean a doctor could lose his licence to practice if he declined to amputate a hand of a person who was found guilty of stealing under Sharia law!

The Hippocratic Oath clearly puts the patients wellbeing as the only consideration, why change

Medical practice should not be about politcal correctness or social science but approved scientific and medical research

This is yet again an undermining of common sense, of silencing those who pledge a duty of care in their professional practice. Surely highly educated doctors should continue to have the latitude to voice their concerns in personal consultations, especially in such areas as these that can have permanently damaging results? The research does not support this approach so the question is, what and who are driving these proposed changes? Longterm health is surely the goal for all patients seeking help.

Drs need to be able to prectice with integrity and the dignity that allows them to no practice in ways they personally feel violate good and safe medical practice.

In this era of privacy policy this policy should not even be considered.

These proposed changes are not good medical practice.

Freedom of CONSCIENCE is being ERODED

The Medical Board Code of Conduct should not intrude on the doctor's private communications. I am appalled that action is being taken against Dr David Van Gend for private posting of articles on Face-Book.

This 'code of conduct' does not comply with the basic freedom of a doctor to not go against his/her own conscience in the duty of care for their patients.

Important Doctors abide by enduring ethical principals in Hippocratic Oath or Code of Conduct. NO CHANGES NECESSARY

I do not think the proposed changes would be good for patients, as doctors know what is best for patients and should not be pressured by families into treatment, or lack of treatment, which the doctor knows is not medically sound.

The Code of Conduct that a GP follows requires a doctor to provide best medical practice in all situations. For a doctor to be forced to accommodate cultural practices from less developed societies means Australian doctors have compromised the medical code of conduct. If Australian doctors are not allowed to act and speak freely on these matters, then the medical Code of Conduct has been compromised.

This is not Nazi Germany, All our professional people must retain their personal integrity and not be bullied by government bodies.

Political correctness gone very wrong,

Doctors need to be able to help in the best possible way. These changes will not only hamper doctors in giving the best treatment, but in the end could will harm & endanger the very people these changes would claim to protect.

I disagree to the proposed changes to the medical practitioners act

We already have a good code of practice in place. To make changes as proposed would put our Doctors in a very difficult situation. They are wanting to protect our health and we need to protect them.