In contrast, the American Medical Association (AMA) appears to have recognized the present need to address the issue of duty to care. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack, the AMA has adopted several new ethics policies that focus specifically on the medical profession's obligations and responsibilities in the context of a public health emergency. The following passage is from the AMA policy document "Physician Obligation in Disaster Preparedness and Response" that was adopted in June 2004: "National, regional, and local responses to epidemics, terrorist attacks, and other disasters require extensive involvement of physicians. Because of their commitment to care for the sick and injured, individual physicians have an obligation to provide urgent medical care during disasters. This ethical obligation holds even in the face of greater than usual risks to their own safety, health or life. The physician workforce, however, is not an unlimited resource; therefore, when participating in disaster responses, physicians should balance immediate benefits to individual patients with ability to care for patients in the future." [21] While the AMA has taken a step in the right direction by stating the obligations of its members, and it is to its great credit for initiating this process, it remains to be seen whether other national medical associations and other health care professions will follow suit and redress the silence of codes of ethics on the duty to provide care.