The code of ethics is sometimes referred to as an instrument of "soft law," owing to its non-legislative nature [16] . As such, in the health care professions, codes of ethics should be interpreted as guides for ethical reasoning and frameworks for the treatment of individual patients, rather than as substitutes for such reasoning or as an absolute mandate [17] . At the same time, a code that is too vague can render it ineffectual and irrelevant. In an era in which health care and technology are evolving at a rapid pace, efforts are necessary to ensure that codes of ethics remain current, practical, and concordant with public expectations.