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(A) These breakdowns should be mended, and many apparently insurmountable “ethics”problems can be solved with open lines of communication.
(B) Confidentially is commonly applied to conversation between doctors and patients, and is commonly known as patient-physician privilege.
(C) It recognizes four basic moral principles, judged and weighed against each other, withattention given to the scope of their application.
(D) The last one, justice, concerns fairness and equality, that is, the distribution of scarce healthresources and the decision of who gets what treatment.
(E) Historically, Western medical ethics may be traced to guidelines on the duty of physiciansin antiquity, such as the Hippocratic Oath and early Christian teachings.(AB) For example, the principles of autonomy and beneficence clash when a patient does notwant a treatment because of religious or cultural views.