Bioethical aspects of the social security medical expertise

Abstract

The physician-patient relationship is guided by mutual trust and, on physician’s side, by concerns with beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and respect for autonomy, present in variable proportions at each assistance, according to the principialist bioethics. Aiming at dimensioning relative representativeness of each of the four principles in expertinvestigated relationship, one hundred and eighteen experienced social security medical experts from 20 Brazilian states were surveyed, through questionnaire. The result showed that, in social security medical expertise, in legal medical procedure, whose purpose is the recognition of rights to social security benefits, experts have little concern about being beneficent and, in any way, they are not concerned with the autonomy of the applicants’ will. The predominant concern showed by medical experts was the correct application of legislation, while it not possible to state that guiding principle of justice was the predominant concern

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