Bioethics

Morality & Ethics

Morality – refers to the quality of human act

Bioethics -Science that deals with the study of the morality of human conduct concerning
human life in all aspects, from the moment of its conception to its natural end.

Health ethics – it is a Science that deals with the study of the morality of human conduct as it
concerns with health care delivery services.

Professional Ethics – moral science that treats the obligations by which a member of a
profession owes the public, to the profession and to his clients.

Ethics – refers to the philosophical and practical science that deals with the study of morality of
human acts or human conduct.

Ethical Codes
CODE OF ETHICS (Corporate or business ethics)
General principles of an organization’s beliefs on matters such as mission, quality, privacy or
the environment

CODE OF CONDUCT (Employee ethics)

Designed to influence the behavior of employees

CODE OF PRACTICE (Professional ethics; professional responsibility)

Discusses difficult issues, difficult decisions
Provides clear account of what behavior is considered ‘ethical’ or ‘correct’ or ‘right’ in the
circumstances

Profession and Occupation

Job
 Series of social and technical activities resulting to production of goods or establishment
of services
 an activity that serves as one’s regular source of livelihood
 Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction,
 White collar vs blue collar job
 White collar job – office

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OCCUPATION AND PROFESSION

Profession Occupation
 Needs extensive training and does not need any extensive training
specialized knowledge ; has to
undergo higher education

Paid for his particular skills and his Paid for what they produce, not with
deep knowledge their knowledge

Can be independent Supervise by another

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

HONESTY
 The professional do not keep any necessary information or lie to the patient w/ regards
to his condition

BENEFICENCE (DOING GOOD)

 Professional uses his or her knowledge and skills for the benefit of the patient (do not
harm our Px while we are trying to help them)
JUSTICE
 The professional should not be bias on his service in the basis of a patient’s race,
religion, nationality, or other personal characteristic

AVOIDING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

 The professional should not only think what could benefit him but instead the goodness
of the patient

PLEDGING TO DO NO HARM
 The professional must avoid all the actions that could give bad effects to the patient

Patient’s Duties and Rights

Patient’s Duties
 Refers to what obligations we owe to others or responsibilities we have under the rule in
question
Patient’s Rights
 Refers to the moral power incumbent upon the dignity of the patient as a human person
which is enjoined by both natural law and positive law requiring that what is due must be
rendered to the patient as justice demands
DUTIES OF A PATIENT
 to participate in a “healthcare jurisdiction”
 to uphold his own health
 to protect the health of others
  to seek and access healthcare responsibly
 Duty of truthfulness, compliance and inpatient conduct
 Duty of recovery or maintenance
 Duty of research participation
PATIENT’S BILL OF RIGHTS
 Right to considerate and respectful care
 Right to obtain from his physician complete current information concerning his diagnosis,
treatment and prognosis
 Right to receive from his physician information necessary to give informed consent prior
to the start of any procedure and/or treatment
 Right to refuse treatment
 Right to every consideration of his privacy concerning his own medical care program
 Right to expect that all communications and records pertaining to his care should be
treated as confidential

Duties of a Healthcare Provider

Preserve life
 Provide all patients with caring attention (including the terminally ill)
Do good
 Treat every Px w/ respect & courtesy

BASIC UNETHICAL AND UNPROFESSIONAL PRACTICES

Sizing up one’s professional capacity before others

Maligning the credibility and reputation of a member of the team or of the same professional
group to clients or others
 Maligning- badmouthing
 Performing action beyond one’s professional functions and capacity
 Having illicit and sexual relationship w/ a client

 Embarrassing a colleague or subordinate before a patient

 Breaking the rules on confidentiality and seal of secrecy

 Fabricating patient’s record and medical certificates for any purposes

Malpractice (maling pagsagawa)

 unprofessional treatment resulting to injuries
 wrong execution of duties and responsibilities of a health care institution

Negligence (kapabayaan)
 failure to use a reasonable amount of care when such failure results in injury

DEFAMATION
 uttering or publishing of slanderous words to injure another’s reputation

SLANDER
  utterance in the presence of another person w/ false statement damaging to a third
person’s reputation

LIBEL
 malicious writing bringing contempt or public derision

Ethical Issues
1. Euthanasia (Arguments For & Against Euthanasia)
2. Babydoe
3. Brain Death, (PVS) Persistent Vegetative State (Withholding & Withdrawing Life
Support)
4. Abortion: Pro-life or Pro-choice Issue;
5. Family Planning (Accidental babies over planed babies)
6. Sexual Misconduct in Healthcare Practice &
7. Conflict of Interest
8. Ethical Issues and the AIDS Pandemic;
9. Medical Confidentiality
10. Organ Donation Issue
11. Ethical Issues on Cloning
12. Transcultural health

Reference:
Ethics of Health Care: A Guide for Clinical Practice; 2nd edition; Raymond S. Edge
Medtech Code of Ethics
Please memorize… ty!