HEALTH ETHICS

A patient who is always worried about her

prescription medications arrives at the pharmacy
with a prescription for metoprolol. The pharmacist
knows this patient very well and knows that she
has high blood pressure, but often stops her
medications because she is nervous of the side
effects the may cause. He fills her prescription but
does not include the patient printout describing the
potential side effects and adverse reactions
because he hopes she will take her medication and
not worry so much. The pharmacist then
instructed her how to take the medicine properly.

Ethics

Ethics (Ethos character)

Sets of principle of good conduct
Standards of behavior developed as a result of societys
concept of right and wrong
Study of moral choices that conform to professional
standards of conduct

Ethics
used interchangeably with 'morality.
Morality deals with what we would classify as good and
evil behavior. Morals are good principles or rules of right
conduct
Phil is a pharmacist who is asked by the customer
about plan B, a morning after pill. Because Phil believes
that the use of a morning after pill is wrong, he describes
all sorts of serious side effects to people who take the
drug. As a result, the patient calls her doctor, who later
called the pharmacy telling them what Phil said to the
patient. In your judgement was Phil ethically correct

Values are desirable standards or qualities.

-concepts that give meaning to life and serve
as a framework for decision making
Etiquette refers how human beings relate
to each other under certain circumstances
(social code)
Bioethics concerned with how ethics is
applied to biological ethics.
Bioethics
1.Abortion
2.Family Planning
3.Cloning
4.Genetic Science
5.HIV AIDS
6.Organ Transplantation
7.End of life planning

 When

you have to judge what is right

or wrong
Deciding whether to do something or
do nothing
A dilemma making a difficult choice

But day to day ethical issues can involve:

Respecting people
Treating people with dignity
Treating people fairly
Supporting patients choices

Double Effect Principle

Situation:
Some evil effect-voluntary in cause may be permitted to
occur.
Guiding Elements:
a. The course chosen = (must be good or morally neutral).
b. The good = (must not follow as a consequence of the harmful
effects) ; (must outweigh the harm)
c. The harm = (must never be intended but merely tolerated as
causally connected with the good intended)
Example: ECTOPIC PREGNANCY, VACCINATION

Principle of Totality
An

individual has the right to cut off,

mutilate or remove any defective
or worn out non-functioning part
of his body

Example: organ donations are allowed if the organ donation would save
another from a serious physical threat, if the donation does not diminish the
functional integrity of the person and if the organ donation was an act of
charity with free and informed consent from the donor.

Principle of Stewardship
Principle of the Inviolability of Life
It is only God who has complete control and
dominion over life; our duty is to take care of it until God takes it back from us.

Principle of Sexuality and Procreation

It underscores
(1) Procreation and nurturing of children
(2) Expression of loving union & companionship.

Both purposes must be achieved only within

conjugal bond.

autonomy
beneficence
non-maleficence
justice

Respect a persons right to make their own

decisions
Do not force or coerce people to do things
Informed Consent

Act on behalf of vulnerable people to protect

their rights
Our actions must aim to benefit people health,
welfare, comfort, well-being, improve a persons
potential, improve quality of life

do not to inflict harm on people

do not cause pain or suffering
do not kill

Treating people fairly

Not favouring some individuals/groups over

others

Respect for peoples rights

Veracity truth telling, informed consent,

respect for autonomy

Privacy a persons right to remain private, to

not disclose information

Confidentiality only sharing private

information on a need to know basis

Fidelity loyalty, maintaining the duty to care

for all no matter who they are or what they may
have done

Ethics Principles
Autonomy

the patient has the

right to refuse or
choose the treatment

Justice is the distribution

of scarce health resources

& the decision who gets
what treatment in terms of
fairness & equality

Non-maleficence

where evil or harm

should not be
inflicted either on
one-self or the
others

Beneficence

as practitioner we
should act in the
best interest of
the patient