Final answer:
To perform any procedures on patients, healthcare professionals must seek informed consent, respect privacy and dignity, protect patients from harm, and preserve confidentiality.
Step-by-step explanation:
Before performing any procedures on patients, it is critical to adhere to the following four standards:
- Seek informed consent - Ensure that the patient or research participant has a clear understanding of the procedure's purpose, and the potential risks involved, and has voluntarily agreed to proceed.
- Respect privacy and dignity - Handle all interactions with patients by maintaining their comfort and privacy, ensuring that their rights are upheld at all times.
- Protect patients from harm - The safety of patients should be a top priority, with all necessary precautions taken to minimize any possibility of causing harm.
- Preserve confidentiality - Safeguard the patient's personal health information, ensuring that it is accessible only to those directly involved in the patient's care and has the right to such information.
These ethical principles are designed to ensure that medical procedures are carried out with the utmost professionalism and integrity.