Issuing the Islamic Code of Medical Ethics is a watershed in the history of the IOMS which has accentuated its prominence not only in the Arab and Islamic worlds but at the international level as well. The Code is considered a unique document comprising three parts. The first part deals with the behavior prescribed for the medical professionals in addition to their rights and duties. The second part focusses on medical research: its requirements; the areas specified as off limit; and the rights of researchers, patients and the whole society. The third part is about medical innovations.

The Code draws heavily on the Islamic Sharia and keeps in line with its purposes and the interests it serves. It represents a historic development in medical thought. In 1980 when IOMS issued " The Islamic Constitution for Medical Professions" it was a unique event at that time although it confined itself to matters that were of interest then both to IOMS and to world organizations as well. On the international arena the medical researchers did not have then the same status and renown they have now. The only medical accomplishment up to that time was the test-tube baby.

Today, news of major scientific achievements surprise us almost on the hour: organ transplantation, the Human Genome, genetic engineering, and cloning, among others. Some of these achievements are not less exciting than science fiction. Day after day we read about the results of their application to real problems on the ground.

The use of the computer and many other high-tech apparatuses has created a situation where several health care providers participate in treating a patient. Handling health problems has also grown so sophisticated that they are approached from various angles. The inevitable corollary of all this is that a patient's confidential information circulate now in more than one medical quarter. Therefore, the principle of strict confidentiality of a patient's information vigilantly kept by his/her doctor seems to have become outdated and needs to be reviewed and regulated in light of the new developments in the field of health care. That is exactly what the Islamic Code of Medical Ethics is meant to do. The Code is the end result of very serious and deep discussions by specialized committees in a symposium which required a whole year of preparations. These committees were membered by scholars of Islamic jurisprudence, health care professionals and academic Ethicists. A committee was set up for each of the above mentioned axes of the Code. The first committee responsible for the proper behavior of medical professionals in addition to the rights and duties of physicians was formed from the following members. They worked on a draft paper prepared for the committee by Dr. Ahmed Ragaie Al-Gendi, the IOMS assistant Secretary General.