From ANH-International
Medical ethics appears to have been put on the back burner in recent times and coercive medical procedures, lack of properly informed consent and breaches of respect for autonomy of individuals have become commonplace. These challenges triggered our interest in re-creating a framework for medical ethics, taking the best of modern ethical principles, as well as the the best from traditional, and even ancient systems. Last month, we released the first of eight pillars of our Health and Ethics Framework, dealing with the relationship between doctors and other health professionals and their patients or clients. It is one of the most important relationships in healthcare – and because the relationship, not just the interventions that might be prescribed, has therapeutic value in itself, it is sometimes referred to as the ‘therapeutic relationship’.
Today, we release the second pillar, specifically dealing with ethics that relate to Health Professionals.
Eight ethical principles relevant to health professionals
The eight overarching principles we’ve developed for this second pillar, aim to ensure that health professionals themselves are cared for, and subscribe to principles that help build trust, and, in turn, ensure they are able to be of optimal service to others in ways that really meet their patients’ or clients’ needs.
The 8 headline principles are listed below; and you’ll find the full details about them in the Pillar 2 framework document (see below).
- Self-care
- Continuous education
- Collaboration with other health professionals
- Health creation and regeneration
- Avoiding over-diagnosis and over-treatment
- Sustainable practice
- Professionalism
- Reporting malpractice, injustice and corruption
At ANH, we know that the majority of our supporters and subscribers are either members of the public with a very keen interest in health, especially natural health – while a significant number are also health professionals.
