Transcript Medical/Healthcare law and ethics

Medical/Healthcare law and ethics
• Three key elements
• law
• professional codes and guidelines
• ethical theories and principles
Medical/Healthcare law and ethics
• Law
– represents minimum standards
– applies broad societal standards and
expectations
• Codes and guidelines
– set minimum professional standards
– reinforced with sanctions by self-regulating
professions
• Ethics
– strives for maximum standards
– provides framework for resolving health
care dilemmas
Medical/Healthcare law and ethics
Action may be
legal
illegal
legal
illegal
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moral
moral
immoral
immoral
Medical/Healthcare law and ethics
• Ethical dilemmas
– increased frequency & difficulty due to:
• increased technology
– life-saving/life-sustaining
procedures/treatments
• changing doctor-patient relationship
– beneficence+paternalism →
autonomy+justice+rights
• changing doctor-healthcare professional
relationship
– professional roles; specialisation; team
care; shared-decision making
Issues that are not normally
ethical dilemmas
• issues of medical etiquette
• legal problems
• inappropriate indications/treatment/discussion
of treatment options
• problems of communication
• breakdown in relationships
• assessment of decision-making capacity
• obtaining informed consent
Medical/Healthcare law and ethics
key ethical concepts
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autonomy
respect for persons
consent
paternalism
beneficence
non-maleficence
futility
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preservation of life
sanctity of life
quality of life
justice
rights
best interests
confidentiality
Medical/Healthcare law and ethics
current issues
• Intervention-related issues
• consent
• beginning of life
– human reproduction
» abortion
» infertility and assisted reproduction
» childbirth
• death and dying
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life-sustaining treatment
medical futility
quality of life
euthanasia/assisted suicide
• research
• Policy-related issues
• rationing and managing health care costs
Guiding principles when dealing with
dilemmas
• respect for autonomy of the patient (selfdetermination)
• beneficence (do good)
• non-maleficence (do no harm)
• fidelity (truthfulness and confidentiality)
• veracity (honesty)
• justice (equitable distribution of
benefits/burdens)
Issues of ethical rights
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Right to health care (?)
Right to self determination
Right to privacy (confidentiality)
Rights of children and the unborn
Right to life
Right to die