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Credits: 3
This course focuses on the practical application of the principles of medical ethics to contemporary issues in healthcare planning, management, and delivery. In an era of increasing regulatory mandates and resource scarcity, an understanding of the function of ethical analysis is of critical importance in the identification, elucidation, and resolution of healthcare controversies. The course includes an overview of the philosophical foundations of the principles of medical ethics and presents a methodology for their employment in the attempted resolution of problems which exist at the confluence of medicine and morals. Issues of patient and professional autonomy, beneficence and non-malfeasance, confidentiality, informed consent, and distributive justice are explored. Application is made to such contemporary issues as euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and AIDS
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