Ethical issues in family practice : future perspectives

Abstract

We live in an age where ethical issues are becoming ever more significant. This has been the result of recent advances in medical research in many areas of medicine particularly those that relate to early human development, including stem cell research, which is currently ushering a revolution in our thinking about therapeutic modalities. Likewise, genetic research and pharmacogenetics in particular promise to revolutionise our practice in relation to use of medical products. Not least, we see a fundamental change in the expectations of our patients who now demand to be treated as equals by their treating doctors, and not as passive receptors of medical largesse. For this and many other reasons, ethics has become an urgent imperative that needs to be tackled by all health professionals. We cannot any longer ignore the need to familiarise ourselves with the issues raised and discussed in current ethical literature. We have to be familiar with the problems, and devise mechanisms of solving them.