2009, Vol.12, No.4

Korean Journal of Medical Ethics 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.21

pISSN : 2005-8284 / eISSN : 2234-3598
https://journal.kci.go.kr/medethics

Medical decision-making is influenced by a variety of factors, including cultural norms, regional practices, patient values, physician responsibilities, and patient autonomy. Whether or not a patient’s family members should also influence the medical decision-making process is a legitimate question. This article defends the view that it is appropriate to involve families in the medical decision-making process at least in those cultures in which the family is the dominant social unit; in such cultures, it is necessary to recognize the rights of a patient’s family in making medical decisions.

Ethical issues in medicine are often accompanied by legal issues. While it is important to take the legal aspects of a medical ethical problem into consideration, following the law does not always ensure an ethical outcome. Moreover, not all ethical issues in medical practice have a legal component, and the law is limited procedurally as a means of dispute resolution. In this article we argue that medical professionals should have a general understanding of both medical ethics and medical law and have the ability to analyze the ethical and legal issues involved in medical practice. Furthermore, we claim that improving physician-patient communication is an important goal of medical ethics education not only from an ethical point of view, but also from a legal point of view, insofar as it may help to prevent future lawsuits against physicians.

The enhancement of human capacities through medical practice is becoming increasingly common and raises many ethical issues. One important question is whether it is even possible to distinguish between medical “treatment” and “enhancement.” On the one hand, there are those who believe that the distinction is both impossible and meaningless; on the other hand, it seems necessary to draw such a distinction in order to determine which medical procedures are compatible with the proper goals of medicine. Other important ethical issues raised by medical enhancement procedures include balancing a patient’s individual autonomy with the effects of these procedures on social equality and justice. This article argues that there is an urgent need for public debate and discussion on the ethical issues raised by medical enhancement procedures