HEALTHCARE ETHICS (BIOETHICS)

INTRODUCTION TO BIOETHICS
COURSE PACKET 1
MIDTERM PERIOD

OUTLINE delivery of healthcare. Healthcare ethics deals and treats ethical issues
A. INTRODUCTION such as withdrawal of life-support system, testing of diseases, access to
I. BIOETHICS healthcare services, brain death, clinical death, suicide, euthanasia,
II. ETHICS vices and virtues, conscience, law, and the like.
III. BIOLOGY
IV. HEALTHCARE ETHICS PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
V. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS Professional ethics pertains to the normative moral system that injuncts
VI. MORALITY a kind of behavior that is expected that is expected of a professional. It
B. PATIENT’S BILL OF RIGHTS demands a professional behavior not only of an individual but also a
group like nurses, physicians, engineers, lawyers, teachers,
INTRODUCTION accountants, scientist, clerics, jurists, and other professionals.

BIOETHICS MORALITY
In the course of the birth of bioethics, experts have skillfully It is Morality that allows man to truly experience the call to be the only
crafted various meanings or definitions of bioethics. It is agent who is endowed by destiny to choose between right or wrong and
advantageous to glean over them. They are as follows: good or bad actions. In this case, it is clear that morality is not contained
• Bioethics is a discipline that deals with the ethical implications in the ambiance of theory but of praxis. Morality is not a pure and rigid
of biological research. intellectual affair; it rather entails the human person’s day-to-day actual
• Bioethics is the study of ethical issues that emanate from the existence in the world. Morality becomes vivid when one encounters a
changes and developments in the life science technologies. moral experience. And this moral experience leads him/her to a moral
• It is a branch of ethics that deals with the life sciences and problem. But when can one say that the problem he/she is in is moral?
their impact in society. The yardstick that can help the moral agent to discern the problem that
• It is a branch of ethics that analyzes moral values in the he/she is having is moral is when the problem injuncts in him/her of moral
context of biomedical sciences. obligation.
• It is a branch of the ethics of biological science and medicine.
• It is a systematic study of the human conduct in the areas of
life sciences and healthcare. PATIENT’S BILL OF RIGHTS
• It belongs to the auspices of medical ethics and is loosely 1. Considerate and respectful care
anchored in the avenues of life sciences and 2. Upon request, the name of the physician responsible for
• It is the study of moral problems in medicine and biological coordinating your care.
technology. 3. The name and function of any person providing healthcare
services.
Based on the definitions above, it is clear that bioethics deals with the life 4. Obtaining from the physician complete, current information
sciences, namely: medicine, healthcare, genetics, biology, research, and concerning diagnosis and prognosis in terms that can be
the like. In fact, its etymological root is derived from bio, meaning life, understood. When it is not medically advisable to give information,
and ethos (ethics) or the philosophical discipline that deals with the the information shall be made available to an appropriate person in
morality of human conduct. However, despite its heavy adherence to the behalf of the patient.
life sciences, bioethics is multidisciplinary. It is the result of the collective 5. Receiving from the physician information necessary to give
efforts in philosophy, theology, law, and medicine as it confronts the informed consent prior to the start of any procedure or treatment,
complex crisscrossing and intertwining of science and technology in the or both and which, except for an emergency situation not requiring
ambit of human life. an informed consent, shall include as a minimum the specific
procedure or treatment, or both, the medically significant risks
involved, and the probable duration of incapacitation, if any.
ETHICS
6. Refusal of treatment to the extent permitted by law and to be
Based on its etymological source, ethics is derived from the Greek word informed of the medical consequences of such action.
ethicos, which means “custom” or “character.” In its vernacular or formal 7. Privacy to the extent consistent with providing adequate medical
context, ethics is defined as the philosophical (normative and theoretical) care. This shall not preclude discreet discussion of the patient’s
science that deals with the morality of human conduct. case by appropriate healthcare personnel.
8. Privacy and confidentiality of all records pertaining to treatment,
BIOLOGY except as otherwise provided by law or third-party payment
Biology is generally understood as the natural science that deals with contract.
the issue of life. Its importance can be seen in the context of its intrinsic 9. A response by the hospital in a reasonable manner to the patient’s
role to protect and safeguard the welfare of all living species. Biology is request for services customarily rendered by the hospital
important in bioethics since it is the science that deals with the consistent with his/her treatment.
multifarious dimensions and domains of all life forms so that it is also 10. Information by the physician or his delegate of the patient’
interested in dealing with factors that affect the development and continuing healthcare requirements following discharge, and notice
impediments of the growth of life like diseases and illnesses of their before transferring to another facility if there is a need for such a
various kinds such as cancer, infections, and the like. transfer.
11. The identity, upon request, of other hospital care and educational
HEALTHCARE ETHICS institutions that the
Healthcare ethics is a domain in the practice of the healthcare profession 12. hospital has authorized if there is a need for such a transfer.
that sets the standards or guidelines relative to studies, inquires, and 13. Upon request, an explanation of the patient’s bill, regardless of
decisions on the part of healthcare professionals in relation to the source of payment

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14. Information of the hospital rules and regulations as they apply to
the patient’s conduct.
15. Treatment regardless race, color, religion, sex, national origin or
source of payment.

Sadly, the Philippines does not have any law that protects
patients in the span of their confinement in a hospital. The only
medical-related law available protects the rights of mentally ill
patients – Senate Bill No. 812 or “Mental Health Patients’ Bill.”