Start here with Good medical practice – our core guidance for all registered doctors. All our guidance builds on these core principles.
Professional standards for doctors
Our professional standards, set out in 11 categories, provide a framework for ethical decision making in a wide range of situations. They should be followed as far as practical in the circumstances.
Guidance on confidentiality. You will also find six supporting pieces of guidance to help you decide if patient information should be disclosed in particular situations, such as when considering if a patient is fit to drive, or when a patient has a serious communicable disease.
A range of guidance to help make sure that you remain professional in the variety of situations that you face. This includes advice on maintaining appropriate boundaries and our social media guidance.
Guidance on treating children and young people. You will also find advice on the responsibilities of all doctors in protecting children and young people.
Guidance on your responsibilities when prescribing and managing medicines, including if you prescribe online or remotely.
Guidance on making decisions about care and treatment in partnership with your patients. It includes guidance on what to do where patients may lack capacity and specific advice on making audio and visual recordings of patients.
Guidance on providing care to patients reaching the end of their life. It covers adults, children and neonates and includes guidance on advance care planning, clinically assisted nutrition and hydration, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
All doctors have a leadership role. This guidance supports you in that, and provides additional advice for those in more senior roles.
Guidance to help you when something goes wrong. It covers how to be open and honest with patients and those close to them. You will also find guidance on raising concerns about patient safety and advice on your responsibilities if someone raises concerns with you.
Guidance on what is expected of a doctor who offers cosmetic interventions.
Guidance for doctors involved in research.
Our archived professional standards dating back to 1993 are available on our professional standards archive. We also have a range of patient guides and materials.