Abstract
The book focuses on ethical themes relevant for the practice of acute and emergency care. Emergency medicine is characterised by time pressure, presentation of complex intedisciplinary medical problems, and the need to use triage not only in multiple victim incidents but also in daily practice at the emergency department.
The authors aim to describe dilemmas, which are not so frequently discussed in the Czech bioethical discourse, but doctors and paramedics commonly face them. The contributions stem from medical practice and use examples oriented towards it.
In the introductory and concluding parts of the book, the authors clarify some theoretical ethical concepts with a special focus on emergency medicine. They also address the roles and responsibilities of all involved - the healthcare workers, other professionals and voluntary care providers, the public, patients and their families.
Topics are arranged according to the four principles of biomedical ethics, which is the most widespread ethical approach in the healthcare field. In the section dedicated to the principle of autonomy, the book discusses informed consent in emergency situations, advanced medical directives, proxy consent, and issues related to care of minors.
Section examining the principle of beneficence includes two related themes: on one hand, questions associated with the indications and contraindications of resuscitation; on the other hand, the issue of palliative care in emergency medicine. Authors discussing the principle of nonmaleficence deal with patients' safety, the issue of aggressive patients, and one of the chapters is dedicated to ethics with regards to media communication and public attitudes, since a substantial part of prehospital emergency care takes place in public space.
The last section deliberates the principle of justice by discussing structural causes of inequities in healthcare provision and by analyzing the needs of individual vulnerable groups. The second topic in this section is distributive justice in multiple victim incidents and catastrophes.