Medical Ethics

Medical ethics is an issue that faces medical professionals around the world on a day-to-day basis, influencing the decisions that healthcare workers make to care for the best interests of their patients.

By the very nature of medicine, which is constantly evolving and developing, the individual nature of each and every case presents medical professionals with ethical dilemmas to which there may be no easy answer. Whilst the Hippocratic Oath is still widely considered to provide the fundamental basis for medical ethics, despite several proposed revisions to modernise the original oath, the issue of medical ethics does not follow a rule book or list of procedures. Instead, it demands a comprehension of complex issues and their consequences.

Fundamental principles of medical ethics

Both the General Medical Council and the British Medical Association conduct regular studies and investigations into medical ethics, but the underlying principle of medical ethics is for medical professionals to do what is in the best interests of the patient. However, particularly in cases involving children, the vulnerable and the terminally ill, huge ethical dilemmas are raised throughout the course of day-to-day practice.

There may, for example, be instances when questions could be raised as to whether intervention is in the best interests of the patient. There may also be cases where a medical professional may be forced to make a decision which could have a detrimental effect on a patient, perhaps in favour of another. A common example is the case of organ donation. In these cases, it is ethically necessary to ensure that any decision is fair and just in the terms of the consequences of an action.

Confidentiality is also a prominent issue in medical ethics. As much as it is an accepted aspect of medical practice, confidentiality is not enshrined in law and there are times when it may be necessary to breach a patient’s confidence. This could relate to suspected criminal activity, the welfare of children or the safety of the wider public. The confidentiality of the vulnerable, particularly children, the elderly and the terminally ill, pose particular dilemmas in medical ethics.

Medical ethics advice from MPS

The Medical Protection Society has a dedicated team of advisers employed solely to discuss medicolegal and ethical dilemmas as they arise in everyday practice.

Our team of medicolegal advisers, all of whom are doctors with extensive legal training, are committed to helping doctors and medical professionals with the specific problems that they face as well as promoting safer practise in the future.
Today, MPS provides advice and support on medical ethics, legal issues and complaints to more than 260,000 members around the world.

Unlike medical indemnity insurance, membership to MPS gives you access to a discretionary service provided by a mutual, not-for-profit organisation. It is this discretionary service which means that we can flexibly tailor our service to both your requirements and to developments into the healthcare industry. We can discuss issues in medical ethics that may be restricted in a typical indemnity insurance policy and provide a service that best meets your needs.

Find out more about our medical ethics and medicolegal advice services.