Duties and obligations of doctors are enlisted in ordinary laws of the land and various Codes of Medical Ethics and Declarations - Indian and International, which are :
(i) Code of Medical Ethics of Medical Council of India ;
(ii) Hippocratic Oath ;
(iii) Declaration of Geneva ;
(iv) Declaration of Helsinki;
(v) International Code of Medical Ethics ;
(vi) Government of India Guidelines for Sterilization.

These Codes and Declarations are being printed in the Appendices. On the basis of these various Codes of Ethics and Declarations, the duties can be summarised as under –
1. Duties to Patient.
2. Duties to Public.
3. Duties towards Law Enforcers.
4. Duties not to violate Professional Ethics.
5. Duties not to do anything illegal or hide illegal acts.
6. Duties to each other.

1. Duties to Patient - These are: Standard Care, Providing Information to the Patient /Attendant , Consent for Treatment, and Emergency Care.

(A) Standard Care - This means application of the principles of standard care which an average person takes while doing similar job in a similar situation:
1. Due care and diligence of a prudent Doctor.
2. Standard, suitable, equipment in good repair.
3. Standard assistants: Where a senior doctor delegates a task to a junior doctor or paramedical staff, he must assure himself that the assistant is sufficiently competent and experienced to do the job, and fulfills the prescribed qualifications.
4. Non-standard drug is a poison by definition.
5. Standard procedure and indicated treatment and surgery.
6. Standard premises, e.g. Nursing Home, Hospital must comply with all laws applicable as imposed by the State and these must be registered wherever required.
7. Standard proper reference to appropriate specialist.
8. Standard proper record keeping for treatment given, surgery done, X-ray and pathological reports.
9. Standard of not to experiment with patient
10. Anticipation of standard risks of complications and preventive actions taken in time.
11. Observe punctuality in consultation.

(B) Duty to provide information to patient / attendant
1. Regarding necessity of treatment.
2. Alternative modalities of treatment.
3. Risks of pursuing the treatment, including inherent complications of drugs, investigations, procedure, surgery etc.
4. Regarding duration of treatment.
5. Regarding prognosis. Do not exaggerate nor minimize the gravity of patient’s condition.
6. Regarding expenses and break-up thereof.

(C) Consent for treatment - Various types of consent and implications thereof are discussed in Chapter 5.

(D) Emergency Care - A doctor is bound to provide emergency care on humanitarian grounds, unless he is assured that others are willing and able to give such care. It may be noted that prior consent is not necessary for giving emergency / first-aid treatment. In emergency medico-legal cases, condition of first being seen by medical jurist is not essential.

2. Duties to the Public
1. Health Education
2. Medical help when natural calamities like drought, flood, earth-quakes, etc. occur.
3. Medical help during train accidents.
4. Compulsory notification of births, deaths, infectious diseases, food poisoning etc.
5. To help victims of house collapse, road accidents, fire, etc.

3. Duty towards Law Enforcers, Police, Courts, etc.
1. To inform the police all cases of poisoning, burns, injury, illegal abortion, suicide, homicide, manslaughter, grievous hurt and its natural complications like tetanus, gas-gangrene, etc. This includes vehicular accidents, fractures, etc.
2. To call a Magistrate for recording dying declaration.
3. To inform about bride burning and battered child cases.

4. Duty not to violate Professional Ethics (Only important few given)
1. Not to associate with unregistered medical practitioner and not allow him to practice what he is not qualified for.
2. Not to indulge in self-advertisement except such as is expressly authorized by the M.C.I. Code of Medical Ethics.
3. Not to issue false certificates and bills.
4. Not to run a medical store / open shop for sale of medical and surgical instruments.
5. Not to write secret formulations.
6. Not to refuse professional service on grounds of religion, nationality, race, party politics or social status.
7. Not to attend patient when under the effect of alcohol
8. No fee sharing (Dichotomy).
9. Not to talk loose about colleagues.
10. Information given by patient /attendant to be kept as secret. Not to be divulged to employer, insurance company, parents of major son/daughter without consent of patient. Even in court this information is given only if ordered by the Court.
11. Recovering any money ( in cash or kind) in connection with services rendered to a patient other than a proper professional fee, even with the knowledge of the patient.

5. Duty not to do anything illegal or hide illegal acts
1. Perform illegal abortions / sterilization’s
2. Issue death certificates where cause of death is not known.
3. Not informing police a case of accident, burns, poisoning, suicide, grievous hurt, gas gangrene.
4. Not calling Magistrate for recording dying declaration.
5. Unauthorized, unnecessary, uninformed treatment and surgery or procedure.
6. Sex determination (in certain States).

6. Duty to each other
1. A doctor must give to his teachers respect and gratitude.
2. A doctor ought to behave to his colleagues as he would like them to behave to him.
3. A doctor must not entice patients from his colleagues, even when he has been called as a specialist.
4. When a patient is referred to another doctor, a statement of the case should be given. The second doctor should communicate his opinion in writing /over telephone/fax direct to the first doctor.
5. Differences of opinion should not be divulged in public.
6. A doctor must observe the principles enunciated in ‘The Declaration of Geneva’ approved by the World Medical Association. ( See Appendix III).