Code of Ethics

PREAMBLE

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recognizes that the Society and its members have ethical obligations to their patients, the profession of radiation oncology, and the broader public and world community. The ASTRO Code of Ethics strives to set standards and provide guidance for ASTRO members as they participate in the Society, in their clinical practice, in their academic, educational and research activities, and in their provision of health care generally. Such a code also signals the Society’s moral commitments to those who depend upon its members for services. 

PRINCIPLES OF ETHICS

The following principles represent ethics that should be practiced by all ASTRO members.

1. ASTRO members shall treat their patients with compassion and respect, and safeguard the welfare, dignity, rights and confidences of their patients.
2. ASTRO members shall strive to develop a common point of understanding with their patients concerning the goals of treatment, including its risks and therapeutic alternatives, in order to provide the most appropriate treatment and foster a strong relationship with their patients.
3. ASTRO members shall maintain due care and diligence in the treatment of patients. 
4. ASTRO members shall develop competence through proper training, maintained by continued study, and supplemented with the talents of other professionals and with consultation when indicated. ASTRO members shall not practice medicine beyond the scope of their training, experience and license.
5. ASTRO members shall charge reasonable fees for patients requiring their services, and shall not discriminate against patients based on their inability to pay.
6. ASTRO members shall inform patients of their ability to enter available clinical trials that are well designed and consistent with the patient’s best interest. The patient must be informed and understand the nature, purpose, risks and benefits of a clinical trial.  
7. When involved in clinical trials, research or any other scientific inquiry, ASTRO members shall perform their roles with integrity.
8. ASTRO members shall strive to avoid any potential conflicts of interest that may impair their independent medical judgment or challenge their ability to faithfully carry out their fiduciary duties in their professional practice or service to ASTRO.
9. ASTRO members shall uphold the standards of professionalism, treat all members of the radiation oncology community and the broader health care community with mutual respect, be trustworthy and honest in all professional interactions, and identify and report to the proper authorities health care professionals who are impaired or incompetent in their ability to function as physicians or health professionals, or who engage in fraud or deception.
10. ASTRO members shall support access to medical care for all patients.