Iranian Society of Asthma and Allergy Codes of Professional Ethics

Abstract

The advances in science and technology in recent decades, especially in medical sciences, have raised new ethical challenges. Hence, professional organizations in the field of medical science are trying to develop regulations in the field of medical ethics to help medical science professionals in making the best decisions in different circumstances and moral dilemmas. The organizations also try to monitor their performance using those regulations. On the other hand, due to the specialization of medical science as well as the complexity of communication between these disciplines, there is a growing need for regulations to answer questions and resolve the challenges of each discipline. Certainly, scientific societies, due to benefit from relevant specialists, are the best reference for the development of specialized guidelines, one of which is the Iranian Society of Asthma and Allergy (ISAA). The aim of the current study was to develop codes of ethics for ISAA members, using a qualitative study. Generally, the ISAA codes of professional ethics consists of general and specific sections. In order to compile the general section, the upstream medical documents, including the patients' rights charter in Iran, the research ethics guidelines approved by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME), ethical codes from the international societies of asthma and allergy, the general codes of professional ethics of the Iran Medical Council and the Islamic jurisprudential rules and the statute law of the country were used. To develop specific sections, we interviewed the experts in the field of Asthma and Allergy about the ethical challenges they had ever faced with. The ISAA codes of professional ethics developed in five chapters, entitled "Ethical Guidelines for the Mangers and Director of the Society, General Guidelines, Specific Guidelines, Ethical Guidelines for Research and Education, and Procedure for Supervision on the Professional Behavior of the ISAA Members", and approved by the board of directors of ISAA.