BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES - Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie

forced to pay for the costs of their medical mistakes, they will be more
careful to make sure that mistakes do not happen in the first place.
Confidentiality violation as a form of malpractice
The ethical principle of confidentiality requires that information
shared by the client with the therapist in the course of treatment is not
shared with others. This is important for the therapeutic alliance, as it
promotes an environment of trust. However, there are important
exceptions to confidentiality, namely where it conflicts with the clinician's
duty to warn or duty to protect. This includes instances of suicidal or
homicidal ideation, child abuse, elder abuse and dependent adult abuse.
Confidentiality shows a respect for an individual's autonomy and
their right to control the information relating to their own health. In
keeping information about the patient secret the doctor is acting
beneficently. Disclosing information without the patient's consent can
damage the patient. For instance if a doctor were to reveal privileged
information about a celebrity patient to the newspapers then this would be
the very reverse of beneficent i.e. maleficent.
Drug misuse
Drug misuse is a term used commonly for prescription
medications with clinical efficacy but abuse potential and known adverse
effects linked to improper use, such as psychiatric medications with
sedative, anxiolytic, analgesic, or stimulant properties. Prescription misuse
has been variably and inconsistently defined based on drug prescription
status, the uses that occur without a prescription, intentional use to achieve
intoxicating effects, route of administration, co-ingestion with alcohol, and
the presence or absence of abuse or dependence symptoms. Tolerance
relates to the pharmacological property of substances in which chronic use
leads to a change in the central nervous system, meaning that more of the
substance is needed in order to produce desired effects. Stopping or
reducing the use of this substance would cause withdrawal symptoms to
occur.
Self-medication
It is a term used to describe the use of drugs other self-soothing
forms of behavior to treat untreated and often undiagnosed distress. Every
day, everywhere, consumers reach for self-care products to help them
through their common health problems. They do so because it may be
easier for them, it may be more cost or time efficient, they may not feel
their situation merits making an appointment with a healthcare
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