Physical integrity and latest legislative changes in Albania
Abstract
https://doi.org/10.21860/j.10.1.2
In their everyday activity medical staff is faced with difficult ethical dilemmas. In general, the set of ethical and moral values they believe in makes the difference in confrontation with patients. However, these values are not always clear in the day-to-day work of healthcare providers and often conflict resolutions are not well-defined. To make a decision for such dilemmas they have to take in consideration their role as a patient’s advocate, a steward of societal interests, a member of a profession and a private individual.[1] Solving medical ethical problems, especially those arising from legal obligations, such as in cases of compulsory physical examination for search of evidence, makes their work even more difficult and stressful. Some of the questions they are faced with are: Are individuals’ under examination considered “patients”? Are physicians obliged to respect their right for physical integrity and autonomy or are they obliged to intervene nevertheless? Between concurring rights and duties, which one should prevail? How do you strike a balance between conflicting values and legal obligations? Are physicians obliged to execute the request of law enforcement agents, or they can choose to respect the autonomy of the individual? This paper aims to analyze the legislative provisions on compulsory physical examination introduced in Albania’s Code of Criminal Procedure on 01 August 2017 and their impact on the activity of Albanian medical examiners and health care providers.
Keywords: bodily integrity, biological evidence, ethics, medical procedure, law.
[1] Bringedal B, Isaksson Rø K, Magelssen M, Førde R, Aasland OG., Between professional values, social regulations and patient preferences: medical doctors' perceptions of ethical dilemmas, Journal of Medical Ethics, Volume 44, Issue 4, (2018), p.239-243, <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29151056>, accessed 28.05.2018
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