Biomedical Ethics
Introduction
The 4 main principles of biomedical ethics are
- Respect for autonomy
- Non-maleficence
- Beneficence
- Justice and veracity
Autonomy
Autonomy recognises an individual patient's right to self-determination in making judgements and decisions for himself and encompasses informed patient consent.
- Confidentiality is a fundamental right with respect to patient autonomy. Hence, consent from a patient is required to disclose information regarding their health and treatment.
Non-Maleficence
The principle is the concept of not knowingly causing harm to the patient, as expressed in the Hippocratic Oath.
- Nonetheless, many interventions may potentially result in some harms.
Beneficence
Beneficence refers to the obligation to act for the benefit of others that is set out in codes of professional conduct.
- Standards set for professionals by their regulatory bodies can be higher than those required by law.
Justice and Veracity
This last principle of justice and veracity is related to the distribution of resources to ensure that such division or allocation is governed by equity and fairness.
- This is often linked to cost-effectiveness of treatment and potential inequalities if treatment options are not offered to a group of patients or an individual
Summary
Nonetheless, when two or more principles apply, we may find that they are in conflict.
- For example, consider a patient diagnosed with an acutely infected appendix. Our medical goal should be to provide the greatest benefit to the patient, an indication for immediate surgery. On the other hand, surgery and general anaesthesia carry some small degree of risk to an otherwise healthy patient, and we are under an obligation "not to harm" the patient.
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