Launch of Good Medical Practice – 25 March 2013
We began reviewing Good Medical Practice in 2011 and consulted extensively to help us shape the new edition. We also consulted on nine pieces of explanatory guidance and have redeveloped our interactive case studies, Good Medical Practice in Action.
Good Medical Practice (2006) is our current core guidance for doctors. We review it regularly to make sure it is up to date and reflects what doctors and patients think are the important principles and values of good care.
A new edition of Good Medical Practice and our explanatory guidance will be published on our website on 25 March 2013 and because it’s our core guidance to the profession, we will send every doctor on the register a copy of it so they have time to become familiar with the new guidance before it comes into effect on 22 April 2013.
Here you can read more about:
Good Medical Practice: explanatory guidance
Good Medical Practice sets out the high level principles of good practice expected of all doctors. The explanatory guidance provides more detail on a range of topics which doctors and others ask us about. During the review of GMP, we consulted on nine pieces of existing explanatory guidance and we will publish alongside GMP in March 2013:
- Acting as a witness in legal proceedings
- Delegation and referral
- Doctors’ use of social media (new guidance)
- Ending your professional relationship with a patient
- Financial and commercial interests and conflicts of interest
- Maintaining boundaries which is now three separate pieces:
- Intimate examinations and chaperones
- Maintaining your professional boundary with a patient
- Sexual behaviour and your duty to report
- Personal beliefs and medical practice
- Reporting regulatory and criminal proceedings within and outside the UK
Doctors must follow the explanatory guidance which will be available to download from the website on 25 March 2013 (and available on request in print). As with Good Medical Practice, the explanatory guidance will come into effect on 22 April 2013.
Next steps
Between now and publication, we will develop plans for raising awareness with the profession, employers, educators and the public about the changes and the additional material we have developed to show how it applies in practice.
If you would like to be notified about the publication or implementation dates, you can sign up to our email update.
For more information about any aspect of the review or publication, please email us.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us during the review.