Health Care Ethics

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Health Care Ethics
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• Ethics Good of the individual concentrating on
  motives and attitudes.
• Moral Concept of what is right or wrong as it
  relates to conscience.
• Statutes A law enacted by the legislative
  branch of a government (reflects societys needs,
  attitudes, and morals.)

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CODE OF ETHICS (Professional conduct)
standards of behavior on the rights and dignity
of the patient as an individual.
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COMPARISON BETWEEN ETHICS AND LAW

• LAW
• External
• Concerned with overt acts or conduct
• Interests of society
• Right-power or privilege inherent in one person
  or enforceable in a court of law

• ETHICS
• Internal
• Concerned with motive
• Interests of the individual
• Right-something to which one has a morally
  justified claim

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Morality is concerned with what people believe to
be right and good conduct.
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Ethics is the part of philosophy that deals with
systematic approaches to questions of morality.
It provides the intellectual framework that
allows us to analyze and make decisions in regard
to moral choices.
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In general, the basic principles involved in
health care ethics are

• Autonomy, veracity, beneficence, nonmaleficence,
  justice, confidentiality, and role fidelity.

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Questions

• Should the elderly be provided the same level of
  health care as that provided for children?
• Should patients with Do Not Resuscitate orders
  be treated in intensive care?
• Must a health care provider who is HIV positive
  relate this to his patients?
• Who should live when not all can live?

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Questions

• Is there a morality to mercy killing?
• Is there a right to health care? If there is a
  right, what is the limit of that right?
• What is the meaning of confidentiality when, on
  the average, over 75 different individuals have
  access to information form our medical records?