THE FOUR PRINCIPLE THEORIES OF ETHICS

An Assignment by -Aleah Joseph

AGENDA

• Introduction
• The Four Theories of Ethics
& examples
• Confidentiality
• Informed Consent
• Impaired Physicians

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INTRODUCTION

Every profession has guidelines, rules

and regulations guiding its practice,
this is what ethics is all about. It has
to do with the professional conduct
of the practice of medicine . The
most common approach to clinical
ethical analysis is principlism.
According to principlism, the medical
practitioner must attempt to uphold
four important principles: respect for
patient autonomy, beneficence,
nonmaleficence, and justice.

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THE FOUR (4) THEORIES OF ETHICS

AUTONOMY BENEFICIENCE NON MALEFICENCE JUSTICE

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AUTONOMY
 In Medicine, autonomy means that a
patient has the ultimate decision-
making responsibility for their own
treatment. A medical practitioner
cannot impose treatment on a
patient.
 The only exception is in cases where
the patient is deemed unable to make
autonomous decisions
BENEFICIENCE
 Beneficence requires healthcare
professionals to take actions that
benefit others, providing for their
good. It requires compassion and
understanding of the patient’s value
system: determination of “good” is
highly individual and dependent on
each person’s preferences.
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NON-MALEFICENCE
 Non-maleficence is the sister
to beneficence and is often considered as
an inseparable pillar of ethics.
 Non-maleficence states that a medical
practitioner has a duty to do no harm or
allow harm to be caused to a patient
through neglect. Any consideration of
beneficence is likely, therefore, to involve
an examination of non-maleficence.
JUSTICE
 Justice – in the context of medical ethics –
is the principle that when weighing up if
something is ethical or not, we have to
think about whether it’s compatible with
the law, the patient’s rights, and if it’s fair
and balanced.
 It also means that we must ensure no one
is unfairly disadvantaged when it comes to
access to healthcare
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AUTONOMY BENEFICIENCE

Examples Examples

 Some patients decide to do everything possible to  providing comfort to a dying patient

prolong their lives, even if the treatment is harsh.

 assisting with tasks a patient cannot perform

 Refusal of certain medications based on beliefs independently.

 Using discernment for post-op and preventative  If a nursing home patient falls and fractures his
care without additional oversight hip, a nurse should provide him pain medication
as quickly as possible.

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NON-MALEFICENCE
Examples
 stopping a medication known to be harmful
 refusing to give a medication to a patient if it
has not been proven to be effective
 A pharmacist opting not to fill a prescription
that could harm a patient acknowledges the
principle of nonmaleficence.
JUSTICE
Examples
 Patients diagnosed with cancer are entitled
to a range of treatments including radio- and
chemotherapy.
 Fairness towards all patients without bias
 Creating Diverse Care Delivery Models.
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CONFIDENTIALITY
WHAT IS IT ?
 Confidentiality is one of the
core duties of medical
practice. It requires health
care providers to keep a
patient’s personal health
information private unless
consent to release the
information is provided by
the patient.
WHEN IS IT BREACHED
 Overriding concerns can
lead to the need to breach
confidentiality in certain
circumstances.
 Exception 1: Concern for
the safety of other specific
persons
EXAMPLE
 Access to medical
information and records by
third parties is legally
restricted. Yet, at the same
time, clinicians have a duty
to protect identifiable
individuals from any serious,
credible threat of harm if
they have information that
could prevent the harm
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 INFORMED CONSENT
WHAT IS IT ?
 Informed consent is a
communication process
between you and your health
care provider that often leads to
agreement or permission for
care, treatment, or
services. Every patient has the
right to get information and ask
questions before procedures
and treatments. If adult patients
are mentally able to make their
own decisions, medical care
cannot begin unless they give
informed consent.
BARRIERS
 Determining capacity or
who has authority to
consent
 Participant unprepared for
consent discussion
EXAMPLES
 When working in
neurological diseases, it’s
difficult to determine if
someone is capable of
providing consent for
themselves or if an LAR is
needed.
 “Potential participants who
obviously did not read the
consent document.
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IMPAIRED PHYSICIANS
WHAT IS IT ? MEASURES THAT HELP

 Physician impairment ,  Voluntarily withdrawing from practice while impaired, receiving

exists when a physician treatment for a potentially impairing personal health problem, or
becomes unable to requesting a federally required accommodation for a disability
practice medicine with should not result in retaliation or professional disciplinary action
reasonable skill and for a physician
safety because of
 A currently impaired physician should proactively and voluntarily
personal health problems
refrain from the practice of medicine. If a physician is suspected
or other stressors. In
of continuing to practice medicine while currently impaired,
most physicians,
colleagues should intervene to ensure that the physician
impairment is a self-
withdraws from practice and is offered assistance until no longer
limited state that is
impaired
amenable to intervention,
assistance, recovery,
and/or resolution.
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THANK U FOR LISTENING …

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