Medical Ethics

Medical ethics
Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of

clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set
of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict.
Medical ethics is concerned with the obligations of the doctors and the hospital
to the patient along with other health professionals and society. The health
profession has a set of ethics, applicable to different groups of health
professionals and health-care institutions.
Medical ethics involves examining a specific problem, usually a clinical

case, and using values, facts, and logic to decide what the best course of
action should be.
Background HISTORY of medical ethics
The term medical ethics first dates back to 1803, when English author and
physician Thomas Percival published a document describing the requirements and
expectations of medical professionals within medical facilities. The Code of Ethics
was then adapted in 1847, relying heavily on Percival's words. Over the years in
1903, 1912, and 1947, revisions have been made to the original document. The
practice of Medical Ethics is widely accepted and practiced throughout the world
after then.
BRANCHES OF MEDICAL ETHICS
Medical ethics, is a field of study about moral problems created by the modern
practice of medicine. There are three distinct branches of the field: public policy
medical ethics applied medical ethics and clinical ethics each of which
contribute to a holistic analysis of ethical issues.
1Public Policy Medical Ethics deal with Problems addressed in public that affect
large groups and include the right to healthcare for all citizens.it also deal with
different ideas about being just and fair to persons in establishing encompassing
medical treatment. Example ensuring drugs availability for severe illnesses such
as AIDS.
2 Applied Medical Ethics: applied medical ethics deal with examining different
articulations of applying ethical theory itself to moral enigma. Issues in this
applied medical ethics branch cover arguments about the ethics of abortion,
euthanasia, treating the young rather than the old when there is not enough
access, manipulating genes to bring about a better human being or to remove the
genes that cause diseases, helping people conceive children, withdrawing life
support at the end of life…etc
3 Clinical Ethics: This branch is part of medical decision making itself. On a case-
by-case basis, clinical ethics evaluates the morality of decisions made by and with
patients and their families about care. The type of problems that arise in this
branch of medical ethics include: deciding to remove life sustaining treatment
from a loved one; making decisions for patients who are either too young or too
old to make them themselves; responding to requests for active and direct
euthanasia; or directing the treatment of a very retarded newborn infant.
Values and principles in medical ethics

A common framework used in the analysis of medical ethics is the "four
principles" approach postulated by Tom Beauchamp and James Childress in their
textbook Principles of biomedical ethics. It recognizes four basic moral principles,
which are to be judged and weighed against each other, with attention given to
the scope of their application. The four principles are
→ Respect for autonomy – the patient has the right to refuse or choose their
treatment. This is rooted in society's respect for individuals' ability to make
informed decisions about personal matters with freedom.
→ Beneficence – a practitioner should act in the best interest of the patient. In

the medical context, this means taking actions that serve the best interests of
patients and their families
→ Non maleficence that is to not be the cause of harm. Also "Utility" to promote
more good than harm. In practice, however, many treatments carry some risk of
harm. In some circumstance
→ Justice – concerns the distribution of scarce health resources, and the decision
of who gets what treatment.[25]
Conflicts in medical ethics

1 autonomy and beneficence/non-maleficence
Autonomy can come into conflict with beneficence when patients disagree with
recommendations that healthcare professionals believe are in the patient's best
interest. When the patient's interests conflict with the patient's welfare, different
societies settle the conflict in a wide range of manners. In general, Western
medicine defers to the wishes of a mentally competent patient to make their own
decisions, even in cases where the medical team believes that they are not acting
in their own best interests. However, many other societies prioritize beneficence
over autonom.
2 Euthanasia
A number of ethical questions are concerned with the endpoints of
the human life span.one of ethical question in medicine is euthanasia
it is part of the subject matter of bioethics, which deals with the ethical
dimensions of new developments in medicine and the biological
sciences. Euthanasia, also called mercy killing is act or practice
of painlessly putting to death persons suffering from painful and
incurable disease or incapacitating physical disorder or allowing them
to die by withholding treatment or withdrawing artificial life-support
measures. Because there is no specific provision for it in most legal
systems, it is usually regarded as either suicide (if performed by the
patient himself) or murder (if performed by another). Physicians may,
however, lawfully decide not to prolong life in cases of extreme
suffering, and they may administer drugs to relieve pain even if this
shortens the patient’s life.
Decisions regarding euthanasia are especially difficult in bioethics

because it is interacting with a hard fact that all humans will eventually
face death and not willingly die.
The opinion that euthanasia is morally permissible is traceable
to Socrates, Plato, and the Stoics. It is rejected in traditional Christian
belief, chiefly because it is thought to contravene the prohibition of
murder in the Bible Ten Commandments. .
When understanding a specific case in bioethics like euthanasia

it is important to acknowledge four basic bioethical principles:
autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. These
four principles are crucial to understanding, and devising a
solution, for a case but certain principles are given more weight
than others on a case-by-case determination. In the biomedical
issue of euthanasia pertaining to terminally ill consenting
individuals, the most relevant bioethical principles are
autonomy and beneficence. Any ethical framework for arguing
for or against euthanasia is complicated simply due to the fact
that death is typically seen as ‘bad’ in society. In situations
regarding euthanasia, act-utilitarianism argues that the
action of ending a patient's life would be permissible if,
and only if, the positive outcomes of the situation outweigh
the negative consequences . Since Kant’s perfect duties to
others and self- esteem to say that no matter the situation
killing is wrong, it would seem that Kant would not ever be in
agreement with euthanasia.
Importance of medical ethics

1. To help resolve disputes between family, patients, physicians,
or other parties.
2. To maintain a clear conscience. All doctors want to be sure they
have done the right thing
3. To maintain the respect of your patients. Patients often

implicitly trust their doctors, but once that trust has been breached, it is
difficult to repair.
4. To maintain respectful relationships with other clinicians.
Acceptance of Ambiguity in Medicine

there is a human physiological standard contrasting with conditions of
illness, abnormality and pain, leads to assumptions and bias that
negatively affects health care practice. It is important to realize that
human base scince is ambiguous and that ambiguity in healthcare and
the acceptance of such ambiguity is necessary in order to practice
humbler medicine and understand complex, sometimes unusual
medical cases. Thus, society's views on central concepts in philosophy
and clinical beneficence must be questioned and revisited, adopting
ambiguity as a central player in medical practice.
References
Medical ethicsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

THEORIES OF MEDICAL ETHICS: THE PHILOSOPHICAL STRUCTURE . DAVID C. THOMASMA, PHD
BRITAINNICA.
SOUND DECISIONS: an Undergraduate Bioethics journal .

Medical Ethics

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Medical Ethics

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Medical ethics

Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of

Medical ethics involves examining a specific problem, usually a clinical

BRANCHES OF MEDICAL ETHICS

Values and principles in medical ethics

→ Beneficence – a practitioner should act in the best interest of the patient. In

Conflicts in medical ethics

Decisions regarding euthanasia are especially difficult in bioethics

When understanding a specific case in bioethics like euthanasia

Importance of medical ethics

3. To maintain the respect of your patients. Patients often

4. To maintain respectful relationships with other clinicians.

Acceptance of Ambiguity in Medicine

Medical ethicsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SOUND DECISIONS: an Undergraduate Bioethics journal .

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