Medical ethics: Its current applications

Abstract

Ethical codes as practiced in the medical profession has been recognized since at least 2000 years ago. Medical ethics governing the relationship between physician and patient comprise three fundamental principles, i.e., autonomy, values and benevolence, and justice. Ethics in an attempt to undertake an orderly reflection on moral intuitions made by individual, while medical ethics may be considered as a moral based duty which governs medical practice. The last few decades have witnessed the increasing tendency of perceiving medical ethics as more important than ever. The current concern of society over ethical problems has led the medical profession to elevate its understanding of the society's views of these problems, and the current global situation calls for ethical reflection. At the same time, the advances of science and technology, economic globalization, and radical changes in the society raise moral questions which are unavoidable to us. Although there exist increasing demands for resolving ethical problems more adequately, medical profession must face a great number of still undefined cases. Several typical problems facing physicians include justice and allocation of health services, duties of the physician toward the patient, standard medical services or standard procedures, experimental and innovative procedures, informed consent, malpractice, and error in judgment. All these represent the problems that will be invariably faced and resolved by the physician.