What Are the 4 Pillars of Medical Ethics?

Medical ethics are essential to remove any unfair practices that exist in the field.

Medical ethics refers to the obligations and duties of doctors and hospitals towards patients and other healthcare professionals. It comprises a set of ethics that may change over time. What was considered ethics 100 years ago may not be considered practical in the current era.

The physicians should weigh the benefits of all interventions against their risks and provide the patient with the best course of treatment. This is particularly crucial in case of difficult end-of-life care decisions on stopping or withdrawing the treatment, medically administered nutrition/hydration, and pain and other symptom control. The physician should choose what is best for the patient.

The hospital staff must clearly understand their ethical and legal responsibilities.

Basic medical practices are laid in the foundation of medical ethics. To be called "ethical," a medical practitioner should adhere to these basic standards.

Here are the four principles of medical ethics:

1. Autonomy
   • It is the power given to the patient to take rational decisions about their health. Every adult individual having a sound mind has the right to determine what should be done to their body.
   • The decision-making shouldn’t be forced by any healthcare person. To make a prudent decision, the patient must understand the risk and benefits of the procedure.
   • Healthcare professionals should provide informed consent to the patient for treatment, accepting the situation when the patient refuses the treatment due to personal reasons.
2. Justice
   • It refers to offering unbiased health care and practicing fairness when providing treatment to the patient. It means providing fair, equitable, and appropriate treatment to the patients.
     • The healthcare provider must consider four main areas when considering justice:
       • Fair distribution of scarce resources
       • Competing needs
       • Rights and obligations
       • Potential conflicts with established legislation
   • New treatments or existing treatments should be given to all patients regardless of economic status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. Many treatments are bound to create an ethical dilemma because they are not equally available to all people.
3. Beneficence
   • It involves performing the procedure with the intent of doing good for the patient involved. The physician is obliged to act for the benefit of the patient. It supports several moral rules to protect and defend the rights of others. 
   • Healthcare professionals should be skilled enough and undergo rigorous and effective education and training before providing benefits to the patient.
4. Non-maleficence
   • It refers to the obligation of the physician to not harm the patient.
     • Some of the rules about this principle include:
       • Do not kill
       • Do not cause pain or suffering
       • Do not incapacitate
       • Do not offend
       • Do not deprive others of the goods of life

Some examples of common medical ethical issues include:

• Patient Privacy and Confidentiality: Protecting a patient’s private information is an important ethical and legal obligation. Conversations between doctors and their patients should be strictly confidential. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has defined what information should be released and to whom.
• Relationships: Physicians should not behave inappropriately with patients. Similarly, medical practitioners should not keep a romantic or sexual relationship with their colleagues as it can create a ruckus. 
• End-of-life issues: Physicians should be ready to deal with the requests of terminally ill patients. They should be able to deal with elderly patients who may fail to create rational decisions for themselves.

Medical ethics is essential to remove any unfair practices or malpractices existing in the field.

Medical ethics is important due to the following reasons:

• Protects privacy and confidentiality of patients
• Promotes health, dignity, justice, well-being, and medical accountability in the medical profession
• Provides moral values as a solution in case of an ethical dilemma
• Maintains a professional relationship between the physician and the patients
• Prevents unethical practices, such as negligence and malpractice
• Promotes attentiveness and adequate training skills among healthcare professionals