These are the 2 systems that are most directly concerned with ethical decision-making in the health care profession?

These are the 2 systems that are most directly concerned with ethical decision-making in the health care profession?

• A. Utilitarianism and Deontology
• B. Virtue Ethics and Care Ethics
• C. Relativism and Objectivism
• D. Natural Law and Ethics of Care

Answer: (A)

In health care ethics, two major frameworks guide decision-making: one centers on outcomes, the other on duties and rules. Utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of actions and aims for the greatest good for the greatest number, which informs choices like resource allocation, prioritizing care, and weighing benefits and harms to patients and populations. Deontology, meanwhile, emphasizes duties, rights, and moral rules, guiding actions around autonomy, informed consent, confidentiality, and treating individuals with respect regardless of the outcomes. These two systems are directly applied to determine what should be done in clinical situations by evaluating both what is best overall and what is morally required by principles or duties. Other pairs shift the emphasis toward character, relationships, or different philosophical questions (such as whether moral truths exist or how care is relationally prioritized), so they’re not as centrally tied to the frameworks used for everyday ethical decision-making in health care.

In health care ethics, two major frameworks guide decision-making: one centers on outcomes, the other on duties and rules. Utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of actions and aims for the greatest good for the greatest number, which informs choices like resource allocation, prioritizing care, and weighing benefits and harms to patients and populations. Deontology, meanwhile, emphasizes duties, rights, and moral rules, guiding actions around autonomy, informed consent, confidentiality, and treating individuals with respect regardless of the outcomes.

These two systems are directly applied to determine what should be done in clinical situations by evaluating both what is best overall and what is morally required by principles or duties. Other pairs shift the emphasis toward character, relationships, or different philosophical questions (such as whether moral truths exist or how care is relationally prioritized), so they’re not as centrally tied to the frameworks used for everyday ethical decision-making in health care.