healthcare ethics
Medicine's moral compass
Healthcare ethics is the branch of moral philosophy concerned with decisions in medicine and health systems—questions about patient autonomy, end-of-life care, resource allocation, and the boundaries of treatment.
It guides how doctors, hospitals, and policymakers navigate competing values: The healthcare ethics committee reviewed the case before approving the experimental procedure.
Also called bioethics or medical ethics, though these terms have slightly different emphases.
- beneficenceActive desire to help
- informed consentPermission given with understanding
- medical proxyAuthorized treatment decision-maker
- justiceFair treatment under law
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
second opinion · patient advocate · whistleblowing · trust · genetic testing · conflicts of interest · bioethics · right to die · truth-telling · accountability · cultural sensitivity · organ donation · reproductive rights · resource allocation · deontology · stem cell research · universal healthcare · dignity
healthcare ethicsmaleficence
Deliberate causing of harm
medical malpractice · forced sterilization · organ trafficking · medical negligence · Tuskegee experiment
healthcare ethicsdefensive medicine
Care driven by litigation fears