Ethics in Palliative Care

Abstract

Health services received at the end-of-life (EoL) are accepted as a basic human right. EoL is a very difficult period for patients and their families. Patients in the EoL period should be provided palliative care (PC) services that will increase their quality of life, so their families. Especially pain and other symptoms that the patient faces should be relieved during PC, and grief counseling should be provided to families in the mourning period after the patient’s death. A significant majority of patients who need PC services are cancer patients. Health professionals, including doctors in the first place, should conduct their relationships between patients’ families and with patients who need PC in accordance with biomedical ethical principles. The biomedical ethical principles that will protect the boundaries that should not be exceeded are as follows: (1) explaining that the person can participate in decisions about their treatment: Respect for autonomy; (2) explaining that they should not suffer any healthcare-related harm while receiving healthcare services: Nonmaleficence; (3) explaining that the health services they receive should be evidence-based and useful for the patient: Beneficence; and (4) explaining that the patient can get the health service she needs as much as she needs: Justice.