In the current context of pandemic influenza planning, as with other public health emergencies, there is an acute need for strategies to encourage greater discussion and dialogue among all interested parties and stakeholders [26] . A first step would be for the professional colleges to create a forum to engage their memberships and encourage the exchange of views on the issue. Such an exchange could then inform the development of formal position statements on the duty to care during communicable disease outbreaks, as well as the development of clear and unambiguous guidelines regarding the professional rights and responsibilities and the ethical duties and obligations of HCPs during such outbreaks. Such statements ought to be made publicly available (e.g., prominently posted on the websites of professional health care colleges and associations) in order to encourage sustained dialogue on the issues raised by professional colleges. A next step would be to foster public debate and dialogue on the positions taken by the various health care professions. To promote this public debate, a working group at the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics has produced an ethical framework to guide preparedness planning for pandemic influenza, based in part on experiences and study of the SARS crisis [27] . The framework presents a 15-point, value-based ethical guide for pandemic planning, including the value of duty to care. This report has been made publicly available via the internet and the use of webcasting and electronic town hall meetings are being planned to facilitate an open exchange. It is of utmost importance to promote a public discourse on these issues and, most importantly, to give a voice to all those who would be directly affected by a communicable disease outbreak. Together, health care professionals and the general public should participate in discussions to determine whether and when it is legitimate for HCPs to eschew the duty to care in the face of personal risk.