An ethical model for decision-making

The increasing social and technological complexity of health care is requiring health care providers to make many ethical decisions. This article presents a brief overview of selected ethical principles and theories, as well as several decision-making models. A 10-question model to assist the practitioner in assessing the moral aspects of an ethical dilemma is described and this model is applied to a clinical situation which involves the principles of confidentiality, autonomy, and prevention of harm.