Medical professionalism in the new millennium: a physician charter 15 months later.

As we mark the 15-month anniversary of the physician charter that was published simultaneously in Annals of Internal Medicine and The Lancet in 2002 (1, 2), the members of the Medical Professionalism Project are pleased by the level of interest and activity the charter has engendered. Several hundred U.S. and international newspapers cited the charter in related stories; more than 70 radio, television, and online interviews have been conducted with individual project members; over 65 000 reprints have been requested from around the world; and, collectively, the Annals, Medical Professionalism Project and European Federation of Internal Medicine (EFIM) Web sites have logged more than 70 000 related visits. In addition, this issue of Annals features a collection of provocative Letters about the charter. Building on this level of responsiveness, the ABIM (American Board of Internal Medicine) Foundation and the ACP (American College of Physicians) Foundation will sponsor phase II of the Project, planned as a 2-year initiative. Phase II will encompass reviewing the charter’s initial impact and, within that context, explore the opportunity to define the health rights and responsibilities of patients, physicians, and society.