MEDICAL-ETHICS - 4 PRINCIPLES PLUS ATTENTION TO SCOPE

The ''four principles plus scope'' approach provides a simple, accessi ble, and culturally neutral approach to thinking about ethical issues in health care. The approach, developed in the United States, is based on four common, basic prima facie moral commitments-respect for auton omy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice-plus concern for their scope of application. It offers a common, basic moral analytical frame work and a common, basic moral language. Although they do not provide ordered rules, these principles can help doctors and other health care workers to make decisions when reflecting on moral issues that arise at work.