Ethical Principle and Principles of Biomedical Ethics
In a healthcare setting, physicians and other healthcare professionals are continually faced with issues requiring them to make the right decisions. Some of these issues are straightforward, but others can be perplexing and may demand ethical considerations to make the right decision. There are four principles of biomedical ethics that act as the basis for health practitioners’ decision-making. These principles help the physician examine the clinical case at hand and decide the best course of action based on values, principles, facts, and logic. Therefore, for any clinical decision to be considered ethical, it must respect the four principles of Autonomy, Justice Beneficence, and Maleficence.
1. Autonomy
Autonomy is the right of a patient to make their own healthcare decisions. This principle requires that the patient have autonomy of thought, intention, and action when making any decision regarding their health. They should not be coerced or influenced in any way when making these decisions. But to make informed decisions, the patient must have the mental capacity to fully understand all the benefits and risks associated with that particular medical procedure.
2. Beneficence
The principle of beneficence states that all the decisions made should be in the patient’s best interest. Health practitioners, therefore, have an obligation to prevent harm and do good for the patient. To do so, they need to continually update their training, acquire new skills and knowledge, and treat each patient individually and strive only for the best outcomes. However, adopting this principle is not always easy as some medical issues present a direct conflict with respecting autonomy and doing good for the patient.
3. Non-maleficence
Non-maleficence, which means not to cause harm, requires that the health care providers’ decisions and actions should not harm the patient or other parties involved. However, with some medical procedures, it may be impossible to avoid harm. In such instances, the providers are obligated to minimize the harm by pursuing the greater good. In any situation, the action or decisions made must do more better than harm.
4. Justice
The principle of justice demands that all patients be treated equally, fairly, and impartially. This means that patients in similar situations should be treated similarly. When exercising this principle, medical practitioners must ensure fairness in the distribution of scarce resources and new treatments to ensure that the benefits and costs are fairly shared by a given group.
In a continually changing medical landscape, the impact of these four principles is undeniably far-reaching. Since they perfectly resonate with societal norms, the principles will continue guiding biomedical practitioners through practice and research.
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