This document discusses ethics in quality improvement and healthcare. It outlines common ethical values like autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. It also addresses ethical issues for elderly heart failure patients, such as the costs and ethics of readmitting patients. Components of healthcare costs like direct medical costs, patient costs, and productivity costs are reviewed. The document provides references on ethics in healthcare quality improvement, balancing practice economics with patient needs, and establishing ethical standards to promote quality medical care.