Ethical issues in rehabilitation medicine

It is only relatively recently that we have begun to examine ethical issues as they relate specifically to the speciality of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Prior to this, most ethicists were more concerned with acute care medical issues involving life and death decisions. However, with the ageing population and the emphasis society now places on returning patients to the maximum possible level of function, greater consideration is being given to ethical dilemmas that are relevant to rehabilitation medicine. This paper examines the major ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence and justice. The issues of resource allocation and patient selection, the ethics of team care and ethical issues in goal setting, as they relate specifically to rehabilitation medicine, are examined in some detail.