Lesson 6 Flashcards
is a process of systematically examining varying viewpoints related to moral
questions of right and wrong
Ethics
Regardless of the theoretical definition, common characteristics regarding ethics are its
___________ and __________ approach to answering questions that have the potential of
multiple acceptable answers
dialectical, goal-oriented approach
Imagine you’re building a super-smart tool for doctors and nurses using computers and
data. That’s informatics. Now, “ethics” is like your __________, making sure that tool
is used for good, not harm.
moral compass
The tool should help people get better, not worse. Example: Using data to predict who’s at risk for a disease so they can get
help early.
Beneficence
The tool shouldn’t accidentally hurt anyone. Example: Making sure the tool doesn’t give out wrong information that
could lead to bad treatment.
Maleficence
People should have a say in how their information is used. Example: Getting someone’s permission before putting their health data
into the tool.
Autonomy
People’s health information should be kept private and safe. Example: Putting strong security measures in place to stop hackers from stealing patient data.
Confidentiality/Privacy
The tool should be used in an honest and transparent way. Example: being honest about the limitations of the tool.
Integrity
__________ is all about using technology in a way that’s responsible, fair, and
respectful of people’s rights and well-being. It’s about building tools that help us take care of each other, without causing harm.
ethical informatics
is defined as the study and formulation of healthcare ethics.
Bioethics
__________ takes on relevant ethical problems experienced by healthcare providers in the provision of
care to individuals and groups. As technology advances increased, recognition and acknowledgment of rights and the needs of individuals and groups receiving this high-tech care also increased.
Bioethics
Think of “__________” as the rulebook for doing the right thing in healthcare, especially
when technology gets involved.
bioethics
○ Bioethics is all about figuring out what’s right and wrong in medical
situations.
○ It helps doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers make good decisions.
Healthcare Ethics
○ As we get better at using computers and data in healthcare (that’s informatics!), new ethical questions pop up.
○ For example, what happens when we can store everyone’s health records in one place? Who gets to see them? How do we keep them safe?
Technology and Healthcare
○ Bioethics helps us make sure that technology is used in a way that respects people’s rights and needs.
○ It’s about making sure that everyone is treated fairly and that their privacy is protected.
○ It is about protecting people from being treated like a number, or just data.
Protecting People
○ Bioethics helps us deal with tricky situations, like:
■ Should we use a new AI tool to diagnose patients, even if it’s not
perfect?
■ How do we share genetic information without violating someone’s privacy?
■ How do we ensure that new medical technologies are available to everyone, and not just the wealthy?
Real-life problems
T or F: Bioethics makes sure that as we use more technology in healthcare, we do it in a way
that’s safe, fair, and respectful of people’s lives and well-being.
True
Ethical dilemmas arise when _____________________ that cannot be answered with a simple, clearly defined rule, fact or authoritative view.
Moral Issues raise questions
These are situations where there’s a conflict between two or more ethical principles.
Ethical Dilemmas
occur when some evidence indicates that an act is morally
right and some evidence indicates the act is morally wrong; yet the evidence on both
sides is _____________________; or an individual believes that on moral grounds, he
or she cannot commit an act.
Moral Dilemmas; Inconclusive
These are situations where your personal values or beliefs clash
with a professional duty or another person’s values.
Moral Dilemmas
How do we balance the need to share patient data for
research with the need to protect their privacy?
Data privacy
What if an AI algorithm makes biased predictions that lead
to unfair treatment?
AI bias
If a computer program helps decide who gets
a needed organ transplant, how do we make sure the program is
fair?
Resource allocation
gives us tools and principles to analyze these dilemmas and make informed
decisions. It helps us balance competing values, like patient autonomy, beneficence
(doing good), non-maleficence (avoiding harm), and justice. Essentially, when
informatics creates situations where we have to choose between difficult options,
bioethics helps us navigate those choices in a way that respects human dignity and
promotes the best possible outcomes.
Bioethics
The process of making informed choices about ethical
dilemmas based on a set of standards differentiating right from wrong. The changing
meaning of ‘communication’ alone will bring with it new concerns by healthcare
professionals for protecting patients’ rights of confidentiality, privacy and autonomy.
Ethical Decision Making
Theoretical Approaches to Healthcare Ethics:
emerged from relatively
homogenous societies where beliefs were similar
and the majority of societal members shared
common values.
Hippocratic Tradition
Hippocratic Tradition
The Core Idea:
“_____________________” It means that healthcare professionals should prioritize avoiding
harm to their patients.
First, Do No Harm
The Hippocratic tradition is one of the _____________________ theoretical approaches to healthcare ethics. Think of it as the foundation for how doctors and
nurses are expected to behave.
Oldest
Key Principles of Hippocratic Tradition
Beneficence
Non-Maleficence
Confidentiality
Doctor-Patient Relationship
This means acting in the best interest of the patient
Beneficence
Emphasizes the importance of keeping the patient information private.
Confidentiality
This means avoiding harm
Non-maleficence
It is based on Trust and Respect
Doctor-Patient Relationship
This arose as societies became more heterogeneous and
members began experiencing a diversity of incompatible beliefs and values. Principles were expansive enough to be shared by all rational individuals, regardless
of their background and individual beliefs.
Principlism
When faced with an ethical dilemma, healthcare professionals use these four
principles to analyze the situation.
Autonomy
Beneficence
Non-Maleficence
Justice
- free will or agency
- this means respecting a person’s right to make their own decisions.
- A patient’s independence
Autonomy
- to do good
- it is about helping people and promoting their wellbeing
Beneficence
- Not to harm
-“First do no harm”
Non-Maleficence
- Social distribution of benefits and burdens
- it’s about fairness and equal treatment
Justice
prompted by expansive technological changes and
associated ethical dilemmas opponents of principlism claim principles:
a. are too conceptual, intangible or abstract
b. disregard or do not take into account a person’s psychological factors, personality, life history, sexual orientation, religious, ethnic and cultural background.
Antiprinciplism
Argument _____ : Anti-principlists argue that principles like “autonomy” or “justice” are too vague. They say these principles don’t tell you exactly what to do in complex situations. It’s like saying “be nice” without telling you what “nice” means.
Argument 1
Argument 2: They also argue that principlism ignores the individual person. It doesn’t consider things like:
- A person’s feelings or personality
- Their past experiences
- Their cultural and religious beliefs
- Their sexual-orientation
Argument _____ : They say that ethical decisions
should be made based on the whole person,
not just abstract rules.
Argument 3
Anti-principlists often prefer approaches that focus on:
Emphasizing the importance of caring and empathy
Relationship
Anti-principlists often prefer approaches that focus on:
Considering the specific details of each situation.
Context
Anti-principlists often prefer approaches that focus on:
Understanding the patient’s story and perspective.
Narrative
. _____________________: the approach to ethical decision-making grew
out of the concern for more concrete methods of examining ethical dilemmas. It is a case-based ethical reasoning method that analyzes the facts of a case in a sound, logical, and ordered or structured manner. The facts are compared to the decisions
arising out of consensus in previous paradigmatic or model cases.
Casuistry
Casuistry is all about looking at specific cases and learning from them. Instead of relying on abstract principles, it focuses on real-life situations. Think of it like building a library of ethical “__________”.
“Precedents.”
This model centers on health care professional’s implicit agreement with patient/client.
Bioethical Decision Making (Husted)
Bioethical Decision Making (Husted) is based on six contemporary bioethical standards :
Autonomy
Freedom
Veracity
Privacy
Beneficence
Fidelity
The Husted Bioethical Decision-Making Model is all about the
_____________________ between a healthcare professional and their patient. Think of it as a set of promises they implicitly make to each other.
Contract
The Husted model emphasizes that healthcare professionals and patients have an
unspoken agreement. This agreement is built on trust and a shared understanding of
ethical principles. It’s like saying,
“_____________________________”
“I, as your healthcare provider, promise to uphold these values”
“I promise to respect your choices.”
○ Respecting the patient’s right to make their own decisions. It’s about empowering patients to control their healthcare.
Autonomy
“I promise you will not be presured”
○ Ensuring that patients are free from coercion or undue influence. They should be able to make choices without being pressured.
Freedom
“I promise to be honest with you”
○ Being truthful and honest with the patient. Healthcare professionals should
provide accurate and complete information.
Veracity
“I promise to keep your information private.”
○ Protecting the patient’s personal information and respecting their
confidentiality. It’s about keeping their secrets safe.
Privacy
“I promise to do what’s best for you.”
○ Acting in the best interests of the patient. Healthcare professionals should
strive to provide care that benefits the patient.
Beneficence
” I promise to keep my commitments to you”
○ Being faithful to the patient and fulfilling their commitments. It’s about keeping promises and maintaining trust.
Fidelity
This approach emphasizes the virtuous character of individuals who make the choices.
Virtue Ethics
A virtue is any characteristic or disposition we desire
in others or ourselves. It comes from the Greek word
_____________________meaning excellence and refers to what we expect of
ourselves and others.
Arete
This approach emphasizes the virtuous character of individuals who make the choices.
Virtue Ethics
Socrates believed that “____________________”
○ Thus, the cause of any moral weakness was not a matter of character flaws but of ignorance.
○ A person acts immorally because they do not know what is really good for them.
○ A person can be overpowered by immediate pleasures and forget to
consider the long term consequences.
Virtue is knowledge
He emphasized that to lead a moral life and not succumb to immediate pleasures and gratification, one must have a moral vision.
Plato
Plato identified four cardinal virtues:
- wisdom
- knowledge
- self-control
- justice
man’s rational approach to problem solving whereby the individual uses reasoning capacities to address real-life
dilemmas.
Wisdom
the spiritual virtue of man or the capacity to do what is right, even when you do not want to
Courage
Ability to not do what you want to do
Self-Control
Overrides all
Justice
Aristotle’s __________ principles (Aritstotle.350 BC) also contribute to virtue ethics.
Nicomachean
_____________________ are connected to will and motive since the intention is what determines if one is acting virtuously or not.
Virtues
Ethical considerations, according to his _____________________
principles address the question, “_____________________________” For
Aristotle this ultimately means acting in a temperate manner according to a rational meaning between extreme possibilities. (The Doctrine of the Golden Mean).
Eudaimonistic; “What is to be an excellent person?”
Goodman( 1998) credits
_______________ and _______________ with the resurgence of virtue ethics in the field of
bioethics.
Edmund Pellegrino and Thomasma
Edmund Pellegrino and Thomasma, they argue that moral events are composed of four elements
the agent,
the act,
the circumstances, and
the consequence
Benjamin and Curtis base their framework on “_______________” (Goodman, 1998, p. 5) and
propose that “critical reflection and inquiry in ethics involves the complex interplay of a
variety of human faculties, ranging from empathy and moral imagination on the one
hand to analytic precision and careful reasoning on the other” ( Benjamen, M. and
Curtis, J. 1992).
Care Ethics
T or F : Care ethicists are less guided by rules and focus on the needs of others and one’s responsibility to meet those needs.
True
The central focus of care ethics is ____________________________________that dictates providing
care, preventing harm and maintaining relationships.
Responsiveness to the needs of others
Responsiveness to the needs of others dictates __________, __________, and __________.
providing care
preventing harm
maintaining relationships
In order to make ethical decisions about informatics technologies and patients’ intimate
healthcare data and information, we must be _______________.
informatics competent
ETHICAL Model for Decision Making
E-xamine the ethical dilemma
T-horoughly comprenend the possible alternatives
H-ypothesize ethical arguments
I-nvestigate, compare and evaluate the arguments for each alternative
C-hoose the alternative you would recommend
A-ct on your chosen alternative
L-ook at the ethical dilemma and examine the outcomes while reflecting on the ethical decision
