PHTY102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Primary And Secondary Legislation, Discounts And Allowances, Ambulance Chasing
5. Ethics in physiotherapy
• Describe the features of health-care ethics
o What is ethics
• Moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conduct of an
activity
• Rules that relate to values, trying to make a judgement between right and
wrong
o Developed over time - influenced by family, culture or society
o Specific to the health-care setting
o Professional ethics
• Expected behaviour within the profession - dress code, language, physical
behaviour
• Upholding the profession - speaking well of profession and colleagues
• Community expectations - 'moral' behaviours
• Making an ethical decision not a matter of personal choice - impartiality
• Knowing patient's wishes - e.g. end of life decisions
• Ethical dilemmas - acting on one moral conviction may mean breaking
another
• Discuss ethical principles which guide physiotherapy practice
o The need
• We are autonomous health-care (or primary) practitioners
• We act as patient advocates - advice, support
• We have the ability to make and justify our ethical decisions
• We are accountable and responsible for our behaviour
o The ethics of physio
• Clients have the right to privacy
• Clients have the right to confidentiality
• Clients have the right to choose and also to refuse treatment
• Ethical obligations are to the profession, the client, the workplace and to
society in general
o Ethical principles
• Justice - fairness of treatment, equal distribution or resources
• Beneficence (benefit to the patient) - promote interests and wellbeing of
others
• Non-maleficence - 'first do no harm', reducing any possible injury to the
patient
• Autonomy - patient self-determination, patient has the right to choose/refuse
treatment
• Dignity - the patient (and the person treating the patient) have the right to be
treated with dignity
• Truthfulness and honesty - informed consent
o Therapeutic relationships
• Physiotherapist - patient relationship is not one of equality - differs from a
friendship
• Patients seek the advice of the physiotherapist and acknowledge a power
differential
• Where a power differential exists then emotional dependence can occur,
therefore there is a need for trust within the relationship - fiduciary
• Components
▪ Power
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