The ‘special obligations’ of the modern Hippocratic Oath for 21st century medicine

Perspectives of the 31 clinician-educators from around the world helped us to situate the meaning of the theme of ‘special obligations’ in the context of challenges facing medical education and health care in the 21st century. Improving the quality of care and patient safety, and reducing health care disparities are now paramount as ‘special obligations’ for doctors, health care systems and medical education organizations, and require us to work collectively and collaboratively in an increasingly interconnected world. Issues include: social contract, limited self-regulation, social justice issues, health care disparities, patient safety.