This document discusses ethical principles in pharmacology, including nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, autonomy, veracity, fidelity, and avoidance of killing. It provides an overview of social ethics and principles of maximizing total net benefits. It also discusses how the principles of justice, autonomy, veracity, fidelity and avoidance of killing are more individual ethical concerns important in traditional clinical healthcare ethics when acting on one patient. Finally, it focuses on the principle of veracity, or dealing honestly with patients, and how various codes of ethics address the duty of pharmacists to tell patients the truth.

1. Topic #3 : Ethical Principles
Lecture :6
Dr. Mohammad Almermesh
Lecturer
Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy Department

2. Overview
Social Ethics (morally relevant)
nonmaleficenceBeneficence
Maximizing total net benefits
Principles of

3. Overview
• The principle of justice (may be morally relevant),
affirms that certain patterns of distribution of the good
(e.g. distribution based on medical need)
• Other moral principles
(Autonomy-Veracity- Fidelity- Avoidance of killing)
• Actions or practices that do not focus on
maximizing the net good produced
• These are more individual ethical concerns
• Are important in traditional clinical health care
ethics
• Acting on one and only one patient (even one
patient)

4. Pharmacy Ethics Principles
Benefiting
the Patient
and Others
Autonomy
Veracity
Fidelity
Avoidanc
of Killing
Justice

5. Veracity
• Veracity (dealing honestly with patients)
• Many common moral systems treat lying as wrong/ traditional
professional health care ethics has not
• Hippocratic Oath does not require that physicians deal honestly with
patients/ they claim that it spares patient agony/ focusing on the
consequences but not inherent moral element
• American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Code, 1969 “ a
pharmacist “should strive to provide info to the pts. Regarding
professional services truthfully, accurately, and fully and should
avoid misleading patients regarding the nature, cost, or value of these
professional services
• 1995 revised code” A pharmacist “acts with honesty and integrity in
professional relationships.”/ its interpretation is “ A pharmacist has a
duty to tell the truth and act with conviction of conscience”

6. The End