Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Ethics and Professionalism
Lecture:Contemporary topics in medical ethics
Slide content:Ethics and Professionalism Summary Lecture c Informed consent is based in the duty to respect patient autonomy Caring for terminally ill patients involves thorny ethical questions about the definition of death, medical futility, and the use of advance directives Conflicts of interest can pose temptations Health inequities require society-wide solutions Conscientious objection represents a clash between professionals rights and patients rights 21
Slide notes:This concludes Lecture c of Ethics and Professionalism . In summary, health care professionals face numerous difficult ethical questions, including informed consent, end-of-life issues, conflicts of interest, health care disparities, and conscientious objection. Informed consent is based in the duty to respect patient autonomy and is one of the pillars of the physician-patient relationship. End-of-life care presents difficult questions about the definition of death, whether medical futility is a useful concept, and whether patients should be encouraged to complete advance directives. Conflicts of interest can pose temptations for physicians as they attempt to balance their personal interests with their ethical duties. Health differences have many causes, and inequities require society-wide solutions. Conscientious objections represent a clash between health care professionals rights and patients rights. They are addressed by laws that vary from state to state and that continue to evolve. 21