Ethics in Healthcare Practice

Abstract

Ethics in healthcare practice has become a growing public health  concern.Ethics in any discipline are guidelines to prevent abuse or misuse of power wielded by a person or group in the practise of that profession.The code of Medical Ethics provides a suitable framework  defining the doctor-patient relationship in professional, social and legal contexts.1The Hippocratic oath is taken by doctors being sworn into the profession, signifying responsibility to society as well as constituted authority of the medical profession.Ethical issues in Medicine include patient's autonomy, informed consent, beneficence, non-maleficience, distributive justice, and confidentiality.As professions mature and become established, they begin to create an ethical environment of shared expectations and norms for acceptable and appropriate behaviour in the practise of its duties and obligations.