Medical ethics in the changing cultural milieu of Thai society

Thai Society is changing from an agrarian one to a more individualistic one based on rule of law and impersonal relationships. This has far reaching implications on the relation between doctors and their patients and especially on medical ethics. Traditional communal ties and the honor accorded doctors by the public can no longer be relied on as sole measures enforcing ethical principles. Measures have shifted from one based on honor to one based on law. One implication of this is that medical ethics have to change from the traditional to one based on rational discourse. Measures must be found in order that ethics based on rational discourse become ingrained in Thai culture. One such measure is that radical separation of arts and science in the schools be demolished, and that medical students interact academically and substantively with their peers in other disciplines.