There is presently a need to address the professional duties of HCPs to their patients with the risks to the well-being of society, which may include family, friends, co-workers, and other patients, in addition to the population at large. This is a matter of balance. The content of current professional codes of ethics offers little guidance or reflection of consensus in the health care community. In the wake of SARS and with the current threat of avian influenza, it is clearly time for medicine, nursing, and other self-regulating health care professions to address the issue head on.