John Gregory’s Writings on Medical Ethics and Philosophy of Medicine

What Goes Around, Comes Around: John Gregory, MD, and the Profession of Medicine

“…But, I apprehend this dignity is not to be supported by a narrow, selfish, corporation-spirit; by self-importance; in a formality in dress and manners, or by an affection of mystery. The true dignity of physic is to be maintained by the superior learning and abilities of those who profess it, by the liberal manners of gentlemen; and by that openness and candour, which disdain all artifice, which invite to free inquiry, and thus boldly bid defiance to all that illiberal ridicule and abuse, to which medicine has been so much and so long exposed (1,2).…”

Quality credentialing: Boon or boondoggle?

“…Becoming and remaining scientifically and clinically competent is the bedrock component of fiduciary responsibility or medical professionalism, concepts introduced into the history of medical ethics in the 18th century by John Gregory (1724-1773) and Thomas Percival (1740-1804). 6,7 As noted in our study case, private medical insurance is being modified. Government payers and private health care insurers are busy developing new products that transition from a managed care focus on controlling the cost of physician behaviors to altering the patient side of the equation with "customer-driven" health care systems.…”

Race, Religion, and Informed Consent — Lessons from Social Science

“…If the physician possesses gentleness of manners, and a compassionate heart, and what Shakespeare so emphatically calls "the milk of human kindness," the patient feels his approach like that of a guardian angel ministering to his relief. 25 Gregory's objective was to return the professional to compassion, sympathy, and humility. These had been lost to the profession, as evidenced, in Gregory's day, by the pervasive practices of physicians providing better care to the wealthy, who were able to pay handsomely for medical services, while neglecting poor patients because their poverty offered no possibility for the physician's personal gain.…”